Recoverd $43.4m Ikoyi Money: Emefiele shun House of Reps invitation

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Godwin Emefiele has refused to appear before the House of Representatives over the $43.4m that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) recovered from an apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos state.

EFCC recently carried out a sting operation that resulted in the recovery of huge sum of cash hidden in the apartment.

It was learnt that Emefiele was not present before the House of Representatives to say what he knew about the money.

The House Committee on National Security and Intelligence presided by an All Progressives Congress lawmaker Aminu Sani-Jaji conducted the investigation during its third sitting on Wednesday, May 17.

The Punch reports that the committee had thrice ordered Emefiele and the suspended Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ayo Oke to appear before it but to no avail.

The Acting Chairman of the EFCC, Ibrahim Magu; and the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno were also summoned to express their views about the money.

Meanwhile, Emefiele was said to have written to the lawmakers saying he felt it was not right for him to come because he would be in breach of the National Security Agencies Act.

In the letter which was read out to the members by Sani-Jaji, the CBN governor argued that the Act prohibited the disclosure of security information publicly.

He noted that security information was ‘classified information’ which the law barred him from releasing to the public.

The CBN governor further argued that a committee chaired by the Acting President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo had already investigated the cash recovery.

But the lawmakers were enraged and they berated Emefiele for acting like “someone who lacks the capacity to differentiate between a legislature and the executive arm of government”. Sani-Jaji stated:

“This CBN governor doesn’t even know that there is something called separation of powers.”