Tinubu appoints Special Investigator to probe CBN
President Bola Tinubu has appointed Jim Obazee as a Special Investigator to probe the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria and related entities.
A letter dated July 28, said the appointment of Mr Obazee was based on the provision of Section 15(5) of the Nigerian Constitution, and in furtherance of the administration’s anti-corruption fight.
The appointment is with immediate effect and Mr Obazee is to report directly to the president.
According to the letter signed by the president, the full terms of Mr Obazee’s engagement as special investigator will be communicated to him in due course.
Mr Obazee was the chief executive officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) before he was fired in 2017 by former President, Muhammadu Buhari.
President Tinubu specifically directed Mr Obazee to take immediately take steps to strengthen key Government Business Entities (GBEs) and block leakages in the CBN and related GBEs.
He also directed him to provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of suspected corrupt individuals and establishments in private and public sectors.
The president said that the investigator should use suitably experienced, competent and capable team, and work with relevant security and anti-corruption agencies to deliver on the assignment.
Mr Obazee is expected to brief the president weekly on the progress being made concerning the assignment.
In the letter, President Tinubu directed Mr Obazee’s attention to his directive to suspend the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, on 9 June.
The suspended CBN boss was arrested in his Lagos home by operatives of the Department of State Security (DSS) a day after his suspension by Tinubu.
The DSS is prosecuting him for possession of an unregistered firearm and has been granted bail by the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The DSS, shortly after the bail was granted, re-arrested Emefiele at the court premises.
The secret service is yet to publicly state the reason Emefiele is still being detained in spite of the bail granted him by the court.
Jim Obazee was the pioneer executive secretary and chief executive officer of the FRCN from its inception on June 3, 2011 until January 9, 2017, when he was removed by Buhari.
Little was known about the council until 2014 when his recommendation led then-President Goodluck Jonathan to suspend the then-CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi.
Before the sacking, Mr Sanusi had accused the Jonathan administration of massive financial malpractice relating to the alleged misappropriation of remittances from the NNPC.
His new assignment from Mr Tinubu will be the second time he will take on the CBN, though in a different circumstance.
