CBN And NIRSAL In Panic As Tinubu’s Special Investigator Jim Obazee Takes Charge Of Investigation....KINDLY READ THE FULL STORY HERE▶

There are indications of growing tensions within the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian Incentive Risk-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL). This comes as President Bola Tinubu’s appointed Special Investigator, Jim Obazee, has taken action.

President Tinubu appointed Jim Obazee as a Special Investigator to examine the activities of the CBN and related entities. In a letter dated July 28, Tinubu justified Obazee’s appointment by citing Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution and emphasizing his administration’s commitment to combating corruption.

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Obazee, reporting directly to the president, requested the deployment of four senior police officers to support his mission in a letter dated August 18, addressed to the Inspector General of Police (IGP). In response, the IGP, represented by CP Abaniwonda S. Olufemi in a letter dated September 6, granted Obazee’s request.

The deployed officers, led by DCP Eloho Edwin Okpoziakpo, have begun their preliminary intelligence work, causing anxiety among the top management of CBN and NIRSAL. They have reportedly collected intelligence regarding NIRSAL and the Anchor Borrowers Programme, which have been subjects of investigations for some time.

President Tinubu recently instructed the recovery of funds allocated to these agricultural programs, adding to existing corruption allegations against NIRSAL during the tenure of the former Managing Director, Aliyu Abbati Abdulhameed, who was dismissed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in December of the previous year.

Sources within the agency have disclosed that investigators are also probing the handling of Anchor Borrowers Funds, which were allegedly kept as fixed deposits by individuals close to the embattled CBN governor. Some individuals involved in these fixed deposits are reportedly in a state of panic.

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It has come to light that an aide of the former CBN governor operated 61 bank accounts, including 44 fixed deposit accounts and 2 treasury bills accounts. In addition to investigating the N5.6 billion wheat project scandal in Kano and Jigawa states, the investigators are looking into the alleged allocation of approximately 600,000 monthly for the upkeep of the former MD’s dogs.

The ongoing investigation by DCP Eloho and his team concerning certain contracts at NIRSAL and the Anchor Borrowers Programme has left top management at CBN and NIRSAL anxious. This anxiety has reportedly led to the destruction of office files and records in an attempt to obstruct the investigation. Among the destroyed documents is one related to a contract for the development of the ICT Policy.

According to insider sources, although financial records indicate multiple payments for the same contract, the documentation for this contract has vanished from NIRSAL’s procurement department. Another source suggested that unless the investigation team finds ways to retrieve the necessary contract records and documents, they may encounter difficulties in getting to the bottom of the matter.

However, Sheriff Salaudeen, the Head of Procurement at NIRSAL, dismissed claims of document destruction but declined further comments, stating that he would respond only to a written request communicated to NIRSAL.