Appointment Of Special Investigator Of CBN And Other Related (Government Business) Entities: This Is Where The Work Begins

By: Shehu Bashir Esq

Fellow Compatriots, you may have heard or read about the appointment of Special Investigator to investigate the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and other Government Business Entities, GBE as recently announced by Mr. President on 28th July, 2023. There is a likelihood that some of us are just reading this and/or just moving on indifferently, not paying detailed attention to the basic assignment therein. Let me break it down a little.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR has “stirred the hornet’s nest” in the most smartest, intelligent and noiseless way. This is an unprecedented government action aimed at “formating” the system of the viruses that have been plaguing it’s efficiency. Mr. President has kick-started what may become the biggest singular probe of activities of government agencies with a view to unraveling the clog mitigating against our expected progress as a nation, focusing the spot light principally on CBN. The CBN is the chief manager of our monetary policies, as such, everything relating to that monetary and financial accountability has a nexus link with the bank. In this instance, by that connection, virtually all government business entities, especially those that are directly or indirectly responsible for the management of our (financial) resources, those in charge of the management of our common wealth, those in charge of revenue collection and accountability and those in charge of the anatomy and physiology of our economy vis a vis the manners of operations of their agencies and the output from them will have one reason or another to sit before the investigation team to answer to questions as may be asked by the special investigators.

Take note that government is a complex edifice with interwoven responsibilities. The CBN must not at no time compromise the integrity of monetary policy ethics, neither should there be a particular mismanagement of our forex business and expanded monetary obligations. The NNPCL has been accused many times of dereliction of duty as well as heinous corruption, conspiracy and poor accountability. It is a fact that even the NNPCL cannot account for the actual transactions being done on the crude oil export neither has it come out clean to solve the mystery behind the subsidy regime scam. Our economy has remained in shambles as a result of mismanagement of our energy and petroleum resources sector as well as forex manipulation. This has also been negatively affecting our political system as well where good governance in these agencies is appearing as though it is a rocket science.

Federal Inland Revenue Service and the Nigerian Custom Service might have been declaring billions or trillions in revenue collection, but much have not been said about the actual collections they should have. No known comprehensive audit has ever been carried out by an independent Investigator to ascertain actual collections and modus operadi of revenue collecting agencies. This is not to talk of several leakages of government revenue. Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, and several other business entities will have their books reviewed for both administrative and operational audit.

Traditionally, these agencies just declare total sum without actually giving details of what could have been collected if what and what is done differently. This is more so that there are so many other identified means and sources through which more revenues could have been collected through expanded tax net which could have doubled whatever was declared in the past years or being declared in the current year. Nigerians cannot find any valid excuse on why our four government owned refineries are not working, yet, the management of the NNPCL votes billions of dollars every year for the operations of these refineries. Nigerians cannot phantom why NNPCL would still be declaring losses every accounting year when it has hitherto been operating on Direct Supply Direct Purchase, DSDP policy in crude export and refined products import.

Many cannot even understand the confusion (and possibly the criminal conspiracy) in the claims between what is paid or not paid in subsidy between the NNPCL and Ministry of Petroleum Resources on one hand and the remittance of the acruable revenue to the federation account through the CBN. Many have been asking, “if NNPCL has been using DSDP in our crude trading, who then is being paid subsidy and for doing what in this transaction? The special investigation will definitely have alot to reveal.

The investigation exercise will dig deeper into “offshore” agencies which are ordinarily supposed to ensure compliance with maximum revenue collection by these agencies and where necessary, report omission or commission against any such defaulting agency. For example, what went wrong and why did some law enforcement agencies “choose to look away” when the CBN and it’s team of “elewele” were engaging in terrible corrupt practices, selling dollars to cronies at lower rate for the bureau de change black marketers and their villa cabals to feast on our economy?

What were the anti-corruption agencies looking when “low profile” individuals were metamorphosing into trillionaires through insider trading and arbitrage? Why didn’t these agencies speak up against that and why wasn’t anyone in the CBN indicted nor prosecuted over that naira “confiscation” policy that almost plunged us into anarchy? Was there a deliberate conspiracy to look away as Nigeria resources were being stolen why proceeds of financial crimes were being used to establish real estate and banking businesses?.

Fellow compatriots, I do not know if you know what is coming but you must all brace up for the mother of all battles against the enemies of Nigeria who have hitherto held this nation by its jugular. I do not envy this team of investigators because the task is huge but I am optimistic the exercise will bring a good report that will help us reposition so many things in our polity.

This assignment is coming at the very right time. The scope of the assignment will be wide and it will be ubiquitous in nature. It is a fact that governance is a process and the process to redeem a bad situation will not come by providing a solution to a problem you do not know. For government to solve the lingering socio-economic hardship in the country, it has to do a reset from the root because a surface palliative may end up being frustrated by the unconscionable and inhumane capitalists. We can only hope and pray that the team does a thorough job without any iota of compromise.

This is where the work begins and this is why the campaign for it’s success must be louder than the ones we had during electioneering. The setting up of this special investigation is one thing, bringing the good intention behind the initiative to the public will need aggressive campaigns of it’s importance. The general public must be adequately informed of what the government intends to achieve on this and why the public must jealously guide and support the investigation activities. This is not an ordinary tooth removing procedure, this is a urological procedure on what has been stunting our growth as a nation. It is very complex and it is very complicated but it is a very necessary step to take. The investigation will help expose so many things with the hope of helping to revive our dying economy and breathe a new life of prosperity into it.

There is no doubt that the entire fabric of our system has been bastardized – from poor human resources management to natural resources mismanagement to compromise in security enforcement – nepotism, under-employment, over-employment, conspiracy, corruption of embezzlement, forex round tripping, arbitrage, insider trading, conversion of government assets to personal use, etc.

Our focus therefore should be on the investigators and the investigation in general. It is a fact that if this investigation is diligently carried out, without fear or favour, Nigerians will laugh to a working country again – our four refineries will be back to full working capacity with attendant adequate supply of petroleum products at affordable prices, our currency will be back to one naira to one dollar in single exchange market, our agricultural sector will pick up to turn Nigeria into food basket of the world and our nation will be fortified against domestic insecurity and external aggressions.

I am keen and more particularly interested in what comes out of this investigation and how the recommendations of the findings will be implemented. I have always asserted that when we solve the problem of corruption in Nigeria, more than 90% of our problems are solved. This is a very good step in the right direction.

Regardless of what role each of us is asked to play or not asked to play in this administration, we must remain patriotic and be hopeful that things will get better very soon. I am personally convinced as ever that when Nigeria is working, we will all work to success and walk to glory. The hope of the success of this country is on our renewed patriotism.

*GOD IS HERE*