Buhari’s Signature Was Forged To Withdraw $6.2m – Former SGF

According to Boss Mustapha, a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), individuals who took $6,230,000 out of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on February 8, 2023, in order to pay foreign election observers, falsified the signature of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

During his testimony on Tuesday, February 13, in the trial of Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mustapha claimed that his signature was likewise fake and that he was unaware of the money that had allegedly been taken out to pay for international election observers.

The former SGF asserted that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should handle all matters pertaining to election observers and that neither the Federal government nor the SGF office was in the business of requesting funds from the CBN for the payment of foreign election observers.

Michael Onyeka Ogbu, an official of the CBN, testified before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama on Monday, stating that the money was given to Jibril Abubakar, an official from the SGF’s office, in cash after President Buhari and CBN governor Godwin Emefiele approved the request.

Read Also: Emefiele Approved $6.23m For International Election Observers – Witness

A statement released by the EFCC quoted Michael as telling the court that; ‘’My Lord, all requests for payments are usually channelled to the branch controller and that is my office. And on that day, my Lord, the request to my office was $6,230,000 and my attention was drawn towards it by my office assistant. It came from the banking services department and the memo carried the signature of the Director, Banking Services, with an instruction to the branch controller to pay the sum of $6,230,000 to a staff of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, bearing the name and identity card of the person.

“It stated that the payment was for election observance and be paid cash in a naira equivalent of the said amount. It further stated that the money should be refunded in the second quarter of 2023 by the Federal Ministry of Finance. My Lord, the document also stated that ‘find attached the approval of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the payment’.

“Also, the memo had an attached approval of the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and that of the then President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Having gone through the document and satisfied that it met the requirement, I then minuted it to the head of the banking services unit for processing and subsequent payment. Mr. Williams, head of banking services compiled and made the payment on April 8, 2023, and the payment was in cash. I can identify the document because it also carries my signature.”

The former SGF stated in court today that he was handed documents that allegedly came from the president’s office.

“On the face value of the document, I can say having served five years and seven months, this document did not emanate from the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Disputing the authenticity of the letter from the president, Boss said; “A correspondence that carries the seal of the president of Nigeria does not carry a reference number. The seal is the authority. The Federal Executive Council (FEC) decisions are not transmitted by letters. They are transmitted through extracts after conclusions are adopted. I am the custodian of the record of FEC, for that reason, the president cannot refer any executive conclusion to me.

“In all the years I have served, I have never heard of the term “special appropriation provision”. The two terms known to me are appropriation, as provided for by the Appropriation Act, passed by the National Assembly. The second is when the government finds a gap, it brings a supplementary appropriation.

“In all the correspondences I have received from Buhari, it has never had ‘please accept the assurance of my highest regard’. I am his subordinate.

“The signature is a failed attempt at reproducing President Muhammadu Buhari’s signature. But I will leave that to the experts.”

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli