The Senior Special Assistant on Media to President Muhammad Buhari, Malam Garba Shehu, has threatened to sue the Peoples Democratic Party over accusations that he and others engaged in the sale of Dollars in the black market after purchasing it from the Central Bank of Nigeria at reduced rates.
Shah and others were accused of brokering a deal of $1 at N185 and selling same in the black market for between N340 and N365.
Others accused of involvement in the deal, according to the PDP on its Tweeter handle, included Buhari; his wife, Aisha; the Minister of Interior, retired Lieutenant General Abdulrahman Dambazau; the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari; and some officials of the Presidency,
They were alleged to have got the discounted foreign exchange on the orders of Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
Buhari was accused of withdrawing $23 million for foreign travel expenses and estacode within seven months.
The PDP also accused Hajia Buhari of getting millions of dollars.
Using the hashtag, #CorruptionAndBuhari, the party said in the tweets: “Garba Shehu got $800,000 forex at N185 from CBN on the instructions of Emefiele, CBN governor and sold at N350 on the same day.
“A Bureau De Change company linked with General Danbazzau got $6m forex from CBN at N185 and sold at N362.
“First Lady Aisha Buhari got $22m forex from CBN on the instructions of Emefiele and the company sold at N362 same day.
“Abba Kyari, Chief of Staff to President Buhari, also got $400,000 at N185 and sold for N340.”
But Shehu, in his reaction, said: “It is a lie by PDP to say I bought $800,000 from the CBN. I had only two FOREX purchases since coming into government: Eight thousand Dollars (USD 8,000) sent to my daughter and nephews through UBA. This is verifiable.
“I’m not a FOREX trader. The day I choose to start trading in FOREX, I will resign as Presidential spokesman.
“If I know the coward and psychopath behind the official PDP handle, I will launch a defamation suit against him/her. And I will claim money in millions as damages.”
The CBN has also reacted to the accusation, describing it as false.
It tweeted: “@cenbank never sold dollars at N185 – $1. Devaluations were from N155 to N167 and N197. CBN only does wholesale allocation to banks (Selling dollars to banks at wholesale). Only banks can determine customers they sell to.
“That’s how the Wholesale Dutch Auction System works. @cenbank does not sell dollars to any individual or group directly. Banks publish final recipients of dollars every week in all major newspapers as directed by the #CBN, so as to promote transparency.
“So, the PDP is only being mischievous and silly. What’s the big revelation? How did PDP know how much the recipients sold the dollars in the open market even if they ended up doing so?
“Simply another smear campaign by Gov. Emefiele’s detractors to connect his name to everything wrong, both imagined, fabricated, or real. As Gov. Oshiomole aptly and succinctly posited recently, these faceless persons will be unmasked soon as ‘palm wine drinkers.’”
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