The EFCC claims that one of its key witnesses supported car procurement contracts given out under former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele have been rejected by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC claims that Salawu Gana, a former head of the CBN procurement department and a prosecution witness, defended the vehicle procurement contracts given out under Emefiele’s tenure, defying the allegations of contract irregularities made against him.
Additionally, according to the agency, Gana stated that the procurement procedures used to award the contracts closely followed legal and regulatory requirements.
“Dele Oyewale, the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, stated in a statement on Tuesday that “this is far from the truth.”
Oyewale explained that Gana, the tenth prosecution witness, did not testify in favor of the contracts; rather, he disclosed that the company had an unfair edge in obtaining the contracts because of the leak of private bidding information to April 1616.
On Monday, February 3, 2025, the witness testified before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, which was presided over by Justice Hamza Muazu, that the CBN’s contract awards for the purchase of automobiles were influenced in favor of April 16 because the company had been given access to bidding information.
In his testimony, Gana, the former head of the CBN’s procurement department, was led by prosecution attorney Rotimi Oyedepo, SAN, who disclosed that three automakers submitted quotes for the purchase of vehicles: RT. Briscoe, Globe Motors, and April 1616. The company ultimately canceled the contract because it knew about the bids from the other two rival companies.
“We started the procurement process by asking April 1616, RT Briscoe, and Globe Motors for quotes. In contrast to RT Briscoe’s N77,050,000 and Globe Motors’ N77,179,999 bids, April 1616 was able to submit the lowest bid at N69 million after being provided with a guidance to the internal estimate, Gana said the court.
According to Oyewale, Gana also disclosed that although April 1616 received private pricing details, the other bidders did not, and Emefiele later authorized the purchase.
A 20-count amended complaint against the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria includes charges of conspiracy, forgery, criminal breach of trust, giving corrupt favors, and gaining $6.23 million by deception.