The Minister of Communication in the first term of ex-president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, Adebayo Shittu, on Tuesday, claimed that there were manipulations and fraudulent approvals under the administration of his former principal.
Shittu stated that many people close to Buhari manipulated things to their favour, plunging the country’s economy into a downward slide.
Speaking on Channels TV, Shittu said, “Let me tell you, there were a lot of manipulations and we even heard that a lot of the so-called approvals did not emanate from President Buhari.
“There were a lot of manipulations and fraudulent approvals which did not emanate from the President.
“I am telling you confidently that a lot of it did not get his attention.
“There were a lot of people around the President who exploited their relationship with the President and conspired with the then-CBN governor.”
Shittu’s claims corroborated that of presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale who said many approvals for releasing funds within the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under Godwin Emefiele did not have Buhari’s signature.
“President Bola Tinubu has come out several times in fairness to him (Buhari), to say, ‘Look, this is what happened under the previous administration’. I think we have to acknowledge the fact that he (Tinubu) understands more than anyone that many of the approvals within the CBN that brought us to this point have no signature to President Muhammadu Buhari and had no knowledge of President Muhammadu Buhari,” Ngelale said.
Shittu therefore wants Nigeria’s anti-corruption agency the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to wade into the matter and “probe properly”.
“I hope the EFCC will probe properly as to how these things happen without the President knowing,” Shittu said.
