‘Tinubu’s CBN Investigator, Jim Obazee, Submits Interim Report, President To Take Action After Review’

Indications have emerged that President Bola Tinubu’s special investigator, Jim Obazee, has submitted his team’s interim report to the president and awaits review.

Recall that President Tinubu, in a letter dated July 28, 2023, named the Chief Executive Officer of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, Jim Obazee, as the special investigator for the CBN.

The President asked the Special Investigator to investigate CBN and key Government Business Entities, adding that the investigator would report directly to the President’s office.

The letter partly read, “In accordance with the fundamental objective set forth in Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), this administration is, today, continuing the fight against corruption by appointing you as a Special Investigator, to investigate the CBN and Related Entities. This appointment shall be with immediate effect, and you are to report directly to my office.”

In advancement to the investigation, sources privileged to the matter have disclosed that Obazee and his team submitted an interim report to the president on the matter about a week ago.

Naija News understands that the change in leadership of the apex bank last week was partly because of three interim reports submitted to President Tinubu.

According to The Punch, a top official privy to the development who pleaded condition of anonymity revealed that the report is currently being reviewed by the president, and necessary actions will follow soon.

The source said, “The CBN Special Investigator submitted a preliminary report to the President’s Office over a week ago. The investigation still continues, but the preliminary report is meant to give the President an idea of what has been discovered so far.” 

It was, however, gathered that the interim report would enable the president to make some key decisions that would help the country move forward.

The CBN special investigator and his team had reportedly pointed out loopholes in the annual financial reports of the CBN, which were recently released, and speculations are that the apex bank might be asked to withdraw the audited annual financial reports.

Recount that in August, the CBN released its financial accounts for the years 2016 to 2022 amid an ongoing probe of the financial services sector regulator by Obazee and his team.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, George Akume, while addressing newsmen on the 63rd independence anniversary of Nigeria, said Nigerians would know what went wrong and what brought the country to its present situation.

He said, “Most of these problems confronting us are because of bad governance. The present government has confronted and is confronting these challenges. When President Bola Tinubu came on board, he made a very sound decision at the CBN. That singular act led to a massive improvement in the capital market, as experts have told us, it is something that can never happen in the past 15 years.

“We have a new team at the CBN, and a special investigator has been in the CBN for some time now, and his result will soon be released, and Nigerians will know what really went wrong and what brought us to where we are today.”