Economy
Alledged stolen N500 billion: Group insists on Emefiele’s sack
The Arewa Youth Assembly, a socio-economic and socio-political group has insisted on the sack of Mr Godwin Emefiele as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, saying doing so would save the nation from further economic meltdown.
They insisted that the sum of N500 billion which was stolen in a private Dubai investment towards the end of 2018 should be investigated as well as other funds that went missing during Emefiele’s administration.
Speaking at a press conference in Kaduna on Sunday, the Speaker of Arewa Youth Assembly, Mohammed Salihu Danlami listed corruption and poor economic policies as reasons President Muhammadu Buhari should sack the apex Bank’s head.
Sunday’s press conference, the group said, was a follow-up of their earlier calls for Mr Emefiele to be sacked, saying that the CBN hasn’t come out to defend why Nigerians were subjected to unmitigated sufferings as a result of its poor and bad policies, rather it has been sponsored attack on them.
The group said: “For the umpteenth time, some of the issues we have raised which our attackers and their sponsors have not been able to intellectually counter are enumerated below for the purpose of those seeing them for the first time.
“The drastic and steep devaluation of the Naira against other currencies even in Africa, Mr Emefiele met the naira exchanging against the American dollar at 1$ to ₦170 but today under his stewardship of the apex bank, it is 1$ to ₦575. This happens as a result of poor economic policies of the CBN and it has been postulated that if nothing is done a dollar will exchange for N1000 before the end of this year. That will not be good for Nigerians who struggle daily to earn their living.
“It was gathered that the CBN failed to remit about N800 billion naira to the Federal Government and haven’t submitted the audited report of the apex bank to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation since 2010.
“Under the watch of Mr Emefiele as CBN boss, ₦150bn NIRSAL loan money got missing.
“Dishing of Bureau – de – Change (BDC) licenses to unprofessional agents most of who are his friend’s allies, has further plunged the naira into further devaluation since these have only used these windows for selfish purposes at the expense of other 200 million Nigerians.
“Misappropriation of funds of the bank to serve his selfish secret presidential ambition.
“₦500bn stolen from the CBN towards the end of 2018 in a private Dubai investment that went sour should be properly investigated.
“We wonder why the issues raised are not been addressed, rather, they choose to use thugs and miscreants to engage us on a smear campaigns that hold no water. They launched media campaigns against us publishing and airing all manners of falsehood against us to turn Mr President against us.
“For record purposes, Arewa Youth Assembly is a social-cultural non-political organization whose core objective is for the unity and progress of our dear country. We shall continue to lend our voices to topical burning issues and no amount of intimidation can distract us from achieving the set goal which in this case is the total liberation of the Nigerian economy.
“Our respect and loyalty will always remain with the President and commander in chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, who up till date is a worthy father of all.
“It is germane to add that Arewa Youth Assembly is the only non-political youth group that celebrated Mr President’s 78th birthday at the NAF conference centre, Jabi, Abuja, without being financed or bankrolled by any individual or group, no external support from anywhere to do so, such as ours love and believe in Mr President.
“Our desire to celebrate Mr President who works his head every day and night at ensuring that he delivers on his mandate and push Nigeria forward is unflinching.
“The thugs and miscreants hired by Mr Emefiele are by their actions dragging the name of President Muhammadu Buhari in the mud. Though this is nothing new because this same class of people are the ones who criticize President Buhari’s led federal government at every opportunity right from the inception of his administration.
“We suspect that Mr Emefiele is the one who is sponsoring smear campaign against Mr President and everyone who stands for the truth. It is noteworthy that, this same set of people who claim to be defending the CBN Governor cannot come out with superior arguments on issues we raised and, we urge the Presidential media team to take a closer look at each of these points for action.
“The question that keeps begging for an answer is that, why is it that the same set of persons who have never seen anything right about this administration and will always jump up in the attack of Mr President via every medium available to them will be the same persons defending the CBN Governor?
“We buttress again that these individuals are been hired to do so. It also clarifies our much earlier suspicion that all of their previous attacks on the government through CUPP, Arewa Consultative Youth Forum, Arewa Consultative Youth Movement etc are been paid for.
“The attack on the Arewa Youth Assembly and purported impeachment of its Speaker, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, are laughable because they are merely campaigns of calumny meant to silence our voices which they have failed on arrival. We want to assure these enemies of a strong Nigerian economy that, these voices of reason will continue to speak up in the defence of the truth which shall be revealed soon.
“As we can no longer sit and fold our hands while things go beyond bounds, we at the Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) a few days ago took the bull by the horn and confront the key challenge facing us. As a result, we came up with three(3) possible leeway that can put an end to this quagmire:
“That Mr Emefiele voluntarily resigns since he is deemed incompetent, totally out of ideas and has become a burden to the Nigerian economic system.
“We ask that Mr President sack Emiefele now before it becomes too late to reshape the Nigerian economy in such a way that it has a positive impact on the life of a common man in the street.
“Mr Emefiele has constituted himself a mole in the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. Mr Emefiele has demonstrated he is a cog in the wheel of progress by making rubbish of all of Mr President’s lofty initiatives aimed at bettering the lives of Nigerians thus pitching many Nigerians against Mr President.
“If any of the two (2) above fails to happen, we will occupy the premises of the apex bank permanently to press home our demands until Mr Emefiele resigns or he is sacked by Mr President.
“A date has been fixed for this mass action and we ask all Nigerians to join us in this struggle for the total emancipation of our dying economy.”
The Accountant General of the Federation, Shamsedeen Babatunde Ogunjimi who was appointed by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu last week has assumed office on Monday.
In a brief ceremony marking his assumption at the Treasury Office in Abuja, he promised to be fair to staff of the office which he said, they would not be intimidated or victimized during his tenure of office.
In his maiden address to the entire staff of the Office of the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, he called for unity, professionalism and commitment in order to achieve the objectives of the office.
He recalled how he suffered victimisaton in hands of previous Chief Executives where he worked, he promised that it would not be the case as he was elevated as the Accountant General of the Federation.
He said: “It is good to be back, this is our home, nobody will drive us out. I want everybody to have the spirit of togetherness.
“I am not in any group, I am not going to polarize the house.
“If I fail, everyone here has failed. I am ready to commit myself to the service of the public.”
The Accountant General called on staff to let the past go and forge a new spirit in order to move the office forward for the good of the nation and the current administration.
“During my interview for this job, when I was asked what I would do differently to change the image of the Treasury House, I wanted to put the question back to you.
“What will you do differently to correct the image of the OAGF? The question is to all staff members.
“Everyone of us must work to change the perception of the country’s treasury.
“I have been a victim of the chief executive officer firing directors he or she doesn’t like.
He assured the staff of the Treasury House of cooperation they haven’t seen in their lifetime professional career, saying, ‘I don’t like him. Please remove him’, I am not going to be that leader,” he said.
CAPITAL POST recalled that President Bola Tinubu last week approved the appointment of had last week approved the appointment of Mr Babatunde Ogunjimi as the country’s new Accountant General thereby putting to rest the guesswork of who should be the next occupier of the Treasury House.
The National Agency for Science and Engineering Infrastructure (NASENI) has announced plans to launch a nationwide sensitization campaign to promote the adoption of Made-in-Nigeria products, highlighting the transformative impact of locally engineered innovations on the nation’s economy.
As part of the initiative, the agency is organizing strategic focus group meetings across the six geopolitical zones of the country to galvanize support for indigenous products.
Speaking at the North Central zonal meeting in Abuja on Wednesday, the Coordinator, Implementation and Management Office (IMO) of NASENI, Yusuf Kasheem, emphasized the importance of supporting local products to drive economic growth.
“When Nigerians embrace the initiative, we do more than purchase goods—we invest in our future. We create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and reduce our reliance on imported alternatives,” Kasheem said.
He further highlighted that the widespread adoption of locally made products is a step toward a stronger, more self-sufficient Nigeria.
Kasheem reiterated NASENI’s dedication to leveraging technology and innovation to boost national prosperity.
“In just over a year, through strategic partnerships both locally and internationally, NASENI has introduced 35 commercially viable Made-in-Nigeria products. These innovations span critical sectors and reflect our commitment to excellence and self-reliance, he said”
Among the highlighted products are Solar Irrigation Systems, Home Solar Systems, Lithium Batteries, Electric Vehicles, Laptops, Smartphones, Animal Feed Mill Machines, and Energy-Efficient Street Lamps—each designed to improve various aspects of the economy and daily life.
In her remarks, the Executive Director of Business Development at NEXIM Bank, Hon. Stella Okotete, described the promotion of Made-in-Nigeria products as a national imperative.
“By increasing the quality, branding, and competitiveness of our products, we enhance our foreign exchange earnings, create jobs, and strengthen the value chain across key sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, solid minerals, and services,” Okotete stated.
To support the initiative, Okotete disclosed that NEXIM Bank had introduced targeted interventions such as single-digit interest loans for export manufacturing and value addition, along with export credit facilities to improve financing access for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).
The campaign aims to foster a culture of pride and reliance on locally made products, positioning Nigeria as a hub for technological innovation and economic self-sufficiency.
A total sum of N1.703 trillion from the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) was shared among the Federal, States and Local Government Councils as the January 2025 Federation Account Revenue.
This was disclosed at the FAAC meeting held in Abuja on Friday.
The N1.703 trillion total distributable revenue comprised distributable statutory revenue of N749.727 billion, distributable Value Added Tax (VAT) revenue of N718.781 billion, Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) revenue of N20.548 billion and Augmentation of N214 billion.
A communiqué issued by FAAC stated that total gross revenue of N2.641 trillion was available in the month of January 2025.
The total deduction for the cost of collection was N107.786 billion, while total transfers, interventions, refunds, and savings were N830.663 billion.
According to the communiqué, gross statutory revenue of N1.848 trillion was received for the month of January 2025. This was higher than the sum of N1.226 trillion received in the month of December 2024 by N622.125 billion.
Gross revenue of N771.886 billion was available from VAT in January 2025. This was higher than the N649.561 billion available in the month of December 2024 by N122.325 billion.
The communiqué stated that from the N1.703 trillion total distributable revenue, the federal government received a total sum of N552.591 billion, and the State Governments received a total sum of N590.614 billion.
The Local Government Councils received a total sum of N434.567 billion, and a total sum of N125.284 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.
On the N749.727 billion distributable statutory revenue, the communiqué stated that the Federal Government received N343.612 billion, and the State Governments received N174.285 billion.
The Local Government Councils received N134.366 billion, and the sum of N97.464 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.
From the N718.781 billion distributable VAT revenue, the Federal Government received N107.817 billion, the State Governments received N359.391 billion, and the Local Government Councils received N251.573 billion.
A total sum of N3.082 billion was received by the federal government from the N20.548 billion Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL). The State Governments received N7.192 billion, and the Local Government Councils received N10.274 billion.
From the N214 billion Augmentation, the Federal Government received N98.080 billion, and the State Governments received N49.747 billion.
The Local Government Councils received N38.353 billion, and a total sum of N27.820 billion (13% of mineral revenue) was shared to the benefiting States as derivation revenue.
In January 2025, VAT, Petroleum Profit Tax (PPT), Companies Income Tax (CIT), Excise Duty, Import Duty and CET Levies increased significantly while Electronic Money Transfer Levy (EMTL) and Oil and Gas Royalty decreased considerably.
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