The Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation has accused the Central Bank of Nigeria, under the leadership of the former Governor, Godwin Emefiele, of re-circulating dirty and unfit banknotes valued at N29.77bn in violation of the apex bank’s own Clean Note Policy.

The allegation is contained in the newly released Auditor-General’s Annual Report on Non-Compliance and Internal Control Weaknesses in MDAs for the year ended December 31, 2022, which detailed how several CBN branches issued out banknotes already classified as “Counted Audited Dirty”, a category of notes formally processed and certified as unfit for circulation.

According to the audit report, the CBN released the condemned notes across Abuja, Lagos, Bauchi and Jos branches between April and December 2022. The Abuja branch accounted for the bulk of the re-issued notes, with N28.615bn released between October and December 2022.

The Lagos branch issued N970m in December 2022, while Bauchi released N30m in April of the same year. The Jos branch issued N50m and N100m on May 16 and May 27, 2022, respectively.

The report stated, “Audit observed that Counted Audited Dirty banknotes amounting to N29,765,000,000.00 were re-circulated into the system by the Central Bank of Nigeria,” noting that the action contravened the Clean Note Policy Version 0.1 (2018), which states that only authenticated fit notes may be issued into circulation, while unfit notes must not be released by the CBN or commercial banks.

The audit team attributed the violation to weaknesses in the CBN’s internal control systems. It warned that the irregular release of dirty notes could expose the country to reputational damage and reduce note durability.

In response, the CBN offered varying explanations for the breach across the implicated branches. The Abuja branch blamed the COVID-19 pandemic for operational disruptions, saying the scarcity of cash at the time forced the bank to supply dirty notes to “meet cash shortfalls.”

The Bauchi branch denied issuing unfit notes, while the Jos branch said the release was necessitated by military cash demands during periods of heightened insecurity. The Lagos branch attributed its action to increased cash demand during the Christmas season.

However, the Auditor-General rejected all explanations, describing them as “not satisfactory.” The report insisted that the findings would remain valid until the CBN implemented corrective measures.

It then recommended that the Governor of the CBN be summoned by the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly to justify the breaches. Where such justification fails, it advises the application of sanctions under the Financial Regulations, which prescribe penalties for gross misconduct by public officials.

The PUNCH observed that the recirculation of dirty notes coincided with the CBN’s controversial naira redesign programme, announced on October 26, 2022. The accelerated rollout triggered a nationwide cash crunch, legal disputes, and, eventually, a Supreme Court ruling that extended the validity of old notes after the deadline had collapsed.

The audit document also highlighted a separate concern involving the delayed destruction of unfit notes. It revealed that 997 boxes of N10 notes valued at N99.7m, declared unfit since November 2021, were still in the vault as of October 2023.

Also, 695 boxes of N500 notes valued at N3.475bn, processed between October and November 2022, were yet to be destroyed. In total, N3.57bn in condemned notes had accumulated due to delays in the briquetting and disposal processes.

The audit warned that the delay created risks of pilferage, loss of public funds, and inefficiency in the bank’s currency management system. The CBN responded that briquetting activities had started and destruction of the notes was ongoing, but auditors again rejected the explanation and maintained their findings.

The revelations add to the scrutiny surrounding Emefiele’s leadership of the CBN. The former governor, who is already facing several corruption and abuse-of-office charges, has been repeatedly accused by government investigators of breaching financial regulations during his tenure.

Although the audit report does not indict him personally, it places responsibility on the CBN management during the period for violating cash-handling protocols and failing to maintain proper internal controls.

However, the Federal Government, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, is prosecuting Emefiele in multiple courts, including a major 19-count fraud case in Lagos and an amended 20-count procurement case in Abuja.

Emefiele is also battling several other corruption and forex-allocation charges pending before both the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court. The audit office recommended that the National Assembly should summon CBN officials to defend the breaches.

The PUNCH earlier in April 2023 reported that bank workers and customers lamented the quality of the old naira notes reintroduced into circulation by the CBN, amidst the gradual disappearance of the new notes.

According to the PUNCH report, bank tellers, who pay cash to customers, and workers in bulk rooms, who collect large cash deposits from depositors, were apprehensive that the dirty, mutilated notes could spread diseases.