General Adamu Jeeda (Rtd) representative of General Abdusalam Abubakar (Chairman of the occasion) presenting the Gold Prize in Public Service to Jim Obazee, the Special Investigator on CBN and Related Entities and Government Business Entities at the 2024 ThisNigeria Annual Lectures & Awards at the Sheu Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja.

 

Jim Obazee, the Special Investigator appointed by President Bola Tinubu to look into the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and others, has charged Nigerians to demand “accountability with consequences” at all times from people in positions of responsibility.

Obazee, at the award ceremony by ThisNigeria Newspaper in Abuja that held on 27th June 2024, where he and four others were awarded, stated that those who could not account their stewardship while in office should be made to face the consequences so that the country can be cleaned up and return to the path of progress.

Speaking at the occasion, Obazee celebrated President Tinubu for granting the opportunity “to take a good look at the malfeasance in the country and find a way to wash them off”.

He highlighted that the biggest problem in the country is that “we seems to be building permanent structures with temporary sticks”. Continuing further he cautioned that “as a country, If we don’t provide for the poor we cannot protect the rich”.

Obazee thanked the newspaper for recognising him and others who served the country wholeheartedly, and was elated by the award which he said, encourages those in public service to ensure that they serve with the object of making humanity better.

“The award encourages those of us who believe in service and who believe in the country. I’m actually delighted that at this time when the journalism industry is facing headwinds, one can still have newspapers that have come out to demonstrate strategies that involve celebrating those who contribute to humanity”.

“I’m also delighted that Nigerians know that everybody will account for his actions especially now that the government has commenced trials while some are still in the process. We are looking forward to a situation where we will begin to demand for accountability, probity, transparency and statutory code of corporate governance so that people can be held accountable and responsible”.

“There was a time in this country when a company came out and said it lied on stock taking. Instead of being punished through a slump in their stock price people rushed the shares, and the shares appreciated. It means we are not conscious of the need for accountability. But from now, I think Nigerians will know that there is need for people and institutions to be accountable and that such accountability should come with consequences”, Obazee said.

The former Executive Secretary of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the premier regulator in Nigeria, got the Gold Prize in Public Service from ThisNigeria Newspaper for unearthing and cleansing the Augean stable of malfeasance in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the immediate past governor of the CBN; Mr. Godwin Emefiele. The said embattled ex-CBN Governor is currently facing trials in courts in Lagos and Abuja.

Obazee was appointed the Special Investigator on July 28th 2023 by President Bola Tinubu to probe the CBN, related entities and other key Government Business Entities (GBE) in the country. The appointment is rooted in Section 15(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 as amended, which places responsibility on him and his team to investigate and block the leakages in CBN and others as well as provide a comprehensive report on public wealth currently in the hands of corrupt individuals and establishments (whether private or public) to the President.

The Publisher, of ThisNigeria Newspaper, Eric Osagie commended Obazee and his team that throughout the investigation, they did “not succumb to inducements to sway them from the path of rectitude, unlike probes of similar nature”.

Other awardees are the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Nyesom Wike who got a Gold Prize for Infrastructure Revolution and Exceptional Leadership in the FCT, Governor Kabir Abba Yusuf of Kano state who was awarded Gold Prize for Courage in Leadership, Governor Umo Bassey Eno of Akwa Ibom was awarded Gold Prize for Peace Building and Innovative Leadership while Comrade Issa Aremu also got Gold Prize in Public Service for effective government-workforce engagement.