Naira Redesign: Presidential Candidate, Governors Move Against EFCC Chairman For Blocking Plans To Swap Billions Of Old Notes

One of the leading candidates in the February 25 presidential election is behind recent clamour for the removal of Abdulrasheed Bawa as the chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, THE WHISTLER has been reliably informed.  

This newspaper has been informed that Bawa had activated a special operation in conjunction with other security agencies to make it impossible for the candidate and others who had stashed billions of looted funds in old Naira notes for vote buying to exchange them for new ones.

The anti-graft agency is said to have identified locations where the funds are kept and deployed operatives to stop any movement of the funds.

The candidate, backed by some powerful politicians and governors, having failed to stop the naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by forcing out the governor Godwin Emefiele, have turned their attention to Bawa, hoping to get rid of him for them to be able to swap their stashed old notes with the new ones.

The surreptitious move against Bawa became an option after the promoters failed to get President Muhammadu Buhari to reverse the policy or extend the deadline for Naira swap which was fixed for February 15.

THE WHISTLER source said Bawa had vowed to ensure that politicians do not take advantage of the cash swap window provided by the CBN to exchange their stashed old notes with new ones.

“The EFCC knows about the stashed billions and are monitoring all the locations to prevent any attempt to swap them for new notes.

“The EFCC has opted against arrests, but Bawa has refused to budge despite pressure on him, and he knows he has the support of the president on fighting corruption. That’s why they want to get him out, “he said.

There were media reports last week that a presidential candidate allegedly kept over N22 billion in old notes in one of the northern states for vote buying, but desperate efforts to exchange with the new notes were resisted by the EFCC.

A chieftain of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP), Buba Galadima, had similarly revealed on Sunday that security and anti-graft agencies were aware that a  governor in the northwest zone had kept N22bn in his house.

On Wednesday, a seven-man panel of the Supreme Court restrained the Federal Government from implementing the February 10 deadline following a suit filed by three All Progressive Congress state governors.

Governors Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Yahaya Bello (Kogi) and Bello Matawalle (Zamfara) dragged the Federal government before the Supreme Court.

The states are seeking a declaration that the Demonetization Policy of the Federation being currently carried out by the CBN under the directive of President Muhammadu Buhari is not in compliance with the extant provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 and actual laws on the subject.

The panel led by Justice John Okoro, in a unanimous ruling, granted an interim injunction restraining the FG, CBN and commercial banks from implementing the February 10, deadline for the old 200, 500 and 1000 Naira notes to stop being a legal tender.

The court further held that the FG, CBN, commercial banks must not continue with the deadline pending the determination of a notice in respect of the issue on February 15.

Abubakar Malami, the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, who disagreed with the decision, nonetheless, said the federal government will obey the ruling.

He expressed optimism that the exparte ruling, which expires on Wednesday, February 15, 2023, would be upturned.

But in anticipation of failure at the court, the candidate and his backers have resorted to using subtle means to intimidate the EFCC chairman and get him out.

A recent Kogi State High Court judgment committing the EFCC chairman to prison custody over contempt of court is seen as part of the plot to rubbish Bawa.

Some civil society organizations at the weekend, staged protests in Lagos demanding his resignation.

The CSO leaders have alleged “politicization of the EFCC” and claimed Bawa disobeyed court orders and infringe on human rights of Nigerians.

The CSOs who were joined by senior lawyers at the rally staged through the streets of Ikeja, ending at the Oregun Junction in Ikeja, Lagos.

With the presidential election getting closer, and with no clear resolution of the CBN deadline on Naira swap, the plot to get rid of Bawa is certain to become more desperate.