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Alleged N89trn Fraud: Emefiele Must Be Sacked, Prosecuted -Dr Gololo

Published

4 years ago

December 15, 2022

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Dr Garus Gololo has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately terminate the appointment of governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele over his alleged looting of a whooping sum of N89.7trillion stamp duty.

Former secretary of the dissolved Presidential Committee on Reconciliation and Recovery of Stamp Duties Revenue and lawmaker in the House of Representatives, Kazaure Gudaji had narrated how N89 trillion from stamp duties was misappropriated and diverted by the CBN governor.

Kazaure had explained that his committee was secretly constituted by President Buhari, with Adetola Adekoya and him as the chairman and secretary, respectively.

The lawmaker said he had in a letter dated August 8 sought the approval of the president to set up the committee that included the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, the Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Yusuf Bichi, Mohammed Wakili, a retired Commissioner of Police and one Mr Okafor, a retired staff of the National Intelligence Agency.

In a fresh document sighted by our correspondent, the lawmaker narrated how various sums flagged into various accounts of the CBN were diverted.

Reacting to the allegations, Dr Gololo lamented that while the country’s economy was getting worse and the citizens getting getting poorer, those at the helm of the affairs were busy stashing the nation’s wealth away for personal coffers.

He wondered how a central bank governor could “heartlessly” corner such humongous sum for personal use even when the Nigeria’s currency which he controls daily go on a free fall and had become a laughingstock in the international community.

“Look at our currency today, almost becoming worthless under a CBN governor, yet people who are looked up to as the custodians of our wealth are busy pushing our money away.

“It’s really not funny to hear such story this afternoon. I was shocked. And this is aan so trusted by the president. President Buhari reposes a lot of trust in Emefiele and look at the betrayal.

“Emefiele must be sacked immediately, investigated and if found culpable, must be jailed.

“Was it not in our presence that the former Accountant General of the Federation was caught, sacked, prosecuted, detained and is on the verge of going to jail? The right thing must be done to Emefiele is found wanting,” the outspoken retired Army General posited.

He called on the anti-graft agencies to rise up to their responsibilities by ensuring that these eye-opening revelations by Hon. Kazaure was not swept under the carpet in order to save the nation’s economy and suffering citizens from these very corrupt government officials like the CBN governor, just as was done to others.

According to him, “Look at the state governors in the south, especially the oil producing states. How many former governors in the south have been prosecuted for corruptively cornering their 13% oil derivation meant for developing their states and bettering their citizens’ lives? Why is it that only officials from the north are being prosecuted and jailed? Is it only northern governors that squander their states’ resources and going to jail? Is it because they’re from the north?

“President Buhari must constitute an investigative panel, whether presidential or judicial, to investigate Emefiele, and if found guilty, be subjected to jail. But before that, the CBN governor has to give way first for sound probing,” the General insisted.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

5 days ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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