The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, says he has not made a decision on running for the presidency, hours after a group purchased the All Progressives Congress (APC) nomination form for him.
In a series of tweets on his official handle on Saturday, the apex bank boss thanked those who raised money for the purchase but said he would buy the form with his money if he is seeking the post.
“I am humbled by the growing interest of those asking that I run for the Office of President in the 2023 general elections: I have not come to that decision. I note and salute the sacrifices of those farmers and patriots going as far as raising personal funds and offering me Presidential Nomination Forms: I thank them most profusely,” he wrote.
“However, should I answer their calls and decide to seek presidential nomination, I will use my own hard-earned savings from over 35 years of banking leadership to buy my own Nomination Forms without proxies in an open and transparent manner in full compliance with the laws and Constitution of The Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“And should I not run for elected office, I will continue to serve and sacrifice for the good people of Nigeria under the able leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari. This is a serious decision that requires God’s divine intervention: in the next few days The Almighty will so direct.”
Before the clarification, the CBN governor had come under fire from several Nigerians including Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State.
In a statement released late Friday, Akeredolu asked him to resign, calling on Buhari to sack the CBN governor if he fails to do so.
“Consequently, we admonish Mr Emefiele to leave the office, immediately, for him to pursue his interest,” Akeredolu said.
“He cannot combine partisan politics with the very delicate assignment of his office. Should he refuse to quit, it becomes incumbent on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to remove him forthwith.”
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has demanded the immediate removal of Godwin Emefiele as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) following his perceived foray into the 2023 presidential race.
According to the main opposition party, his involvement in politics while holding on to his post as the head of the apex bank amounts to gross misconduct.
The party also wants Emefiele arrested and prosecuted for alleged financial malfeasance in the apex bank.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja on Saturday, the Hon. Debo Ologunagba, the
National Publicity Secretary of the party, who made the call, recalled that the PDP had previously alerted the nation that Emefiele was being promoted by the Presidency as the Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections.
He said the PDP had maintained that by getting involved in politics, the CBN chief had gone against the provisions of the CBN Act 2007 particularly Section 9 which provides that “the Governor and the Deputy Governors shall devote the whole of their time to the service of the bank and while holding office, shall not engage in any full or part-time employment or vocation, whether remunerated or not…”
According to the PDP this provision is clear in its demand that 100 percent of the time and expertise of the CBN Governor and deputy governors shall be dedicated to the service of the CBN.
The main opposition party affirmed that this is because the CBN is critical to the integrity and stability of our economy.
Also citing Section 030422 of the Public Service Rule that prevents public officers from holding elective office unless such officer resigns his appointment and particularly Section 030502 (g) of the Rule which lists “engaging in partisan political activities’ as serious act of misconduct, the PDP spokesman averred that Emefiele’s involvement in politics without resigning as CBN Governor therefore amounts to gross misconduct in contravention of Section 11 2 (2)(c) of the CBN Act.
The party spokesman added: “Now that Mr. Emefiele has joined politics and reportedly obtained the N100 million Presidential aspirant form from the APC, he cannot continue to resume at the CBN which is the commonwealth of our nation.
“By this Mr. Emefiele has become a clear and present danger to the health, integrity and reputation of the CBN and our nation’s financial sector. His continued stay as CBN Governor will further destroy investors’ confidence in the integrity of our nation’s financial regulatory Institution.
“Mr. Emefiele’s involvement in partisan politics while still holding office as CBN Governor underpins the impunity, lawlessness and recklessness of the Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration. It further confirms that the CBN under Emefiele has all along been the finance department of the APC.
“It is now evident that the summersault of the economy under Mr. Emefiele as CBN Governor has been influenced by a personal partisan interest for which the CBN under his watch allegedly allowed multiple leakages in our financial regulations through discriminatory exchange rate policies and nebulous subsidies to funnel billons of naira to political lackies to fund a presidential ambition.
“This also explains why under Emefiele, the CBN which is supposed to be the bankers’ bank continues to engage in fraudulent retail banking services under ill-defined economic intervention programmes to plunder the treasury.
