Jim Obazee, President Bola Tinubu’s special investigator probing the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has accused Ibrahim Gambari and Zainab Ahmed of involvement in misappropriating over N17 trillion in public funds in connivance with former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
The two officials served respectively as Chief of Staff and Minister of Finance under former President Muhammadu Buhari. They were blamed for a series of questionable use of ways and means instrument of the CBN that left Nigeria unable to account for N17.3 trillion.
“Stealing of public funds through advances to government, otherwise known as ways and means, constitutes a criminal offence.
“The sum of N17.369 trillion remains unaccounted for, as neither due appropriation nor approvals exist to support the diversion of public funds through this medium.
“This constitutes an offence under the penal code as applicable in the Federal Capital Territory to which actors and conspirators, in this instance, are liable.”
Gambari, who did not comment when reached, appeared to be facing his first public controversy since reports emerge on how his son Bolaji Gambari was emerging as a top influence peddler after the appointment of his father.
Obazee said trillions of naira went unaccounted for after unauthorised appropriation between Gambari and Ahmed. He added that around N23 trillion in illegal spending was suspiciously approved to be covered through conversion of Nigerian assets by the National Assembly.
He revealed that the exploitation of ways and means was a criminal offence that should be greatly punished under existing regulations of the apex bank.
Obazee said: “The Supreme Court should be approached to nullify the approval that the 9th National Assembly gave to securitise the ways and means of N22.7 trillion.”
Obazee noted that it contravened Section 38 of the CBN Act, 2007.
