Dec. 24, 2023

Former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha has dismissed as outrageous insinuations alleging his involvement in an illegal withdrawal of 6.3 million dollars from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In a statement on Sunday in Abuja, Mustapha refuted the allegations, describing it as “outrageous and unsubstantiated”.

He said the allegation was a malicious fabrication, and an orchestrated attempt to assassinate his character, and tarnish his reputation.

The former SGF said he lacked knowledge of the purported “Presidential Directive” being referred to, as justification for the withdrawal.

Mustapha said that he was never involved in discussions or transactions, relating to any payment for foreign election observers.

He further questioned the timing of the allegation, pointing to the sensitive pre-Christmas period as a deliberate attempt to exploit public sentiment and sow seeds of doubt.

The former SGF called for a thorough and transparent investigation into the matter, urging the authorities to probe the source of the fabricated documents and expose those behind the smear campaign.

He said the report claimed that a special investigator, appointed by President Bola Tinubu, uncovered the alleged theft.

“It was said to have supposedly occurred on Feb. 8, three weeks before the presidential election.

“The report further alleged that along with the embattled former CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, authorised the removal of the cash from the bank’s vault, under the guise of funding foreign election observer missions.

“The investigator’s report, as quoted by the publication, claimed CCTV footage, captured how the money was moved out of the apex bank,” he said.