By Eric Elezuo

There is a clarion call across the length and breadth of the political circle in Nigeria, asking for the immediate resignation of the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for venturing into partisan politics.

The CBN governor, had on Friday against the rules of the game, purchased the expression of interest and nomination forms of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) valued at N100 million to contest the forthcoming party primaries.

Emefiele’s action, by all intent and purposes contravenes the CBN Act of 2007 and the Civil Service Rules, which stipulate that no public officer will engage in another job, whether paid or not, or present himself for any elective position while still in service.

However, the CBN governor has come out to say that the forms were purchased for him by three groups without his consent, and that he wasn’t interested. The groups, according report are the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Friends of Emefiele and Emefiele Support Group. The report added the group said Emefiele is the only responsible and responsive person to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari at the 2023 general election.

But Emefiele said that he was focused on strengthening the nation’s economy amid calls by supporters that he should contest the nation’s topmost office in 2023.

According to the groups, Nigeria is passing through a lot of economic and security challenges, and the parties and the electorate must bring in experience, dynamism, energy, equity and fairness in the choice of who becomes the next President of Nigeria.

However, political stakeholders and social analysts have condemned Emefiele for taking the path of politics while still in office, adding that the story of groups buying forms for him was unrealistic. They alleged that the CBN boss was totally aware of the process, and is feeding Nigerians with tales of unawareness.

It would be recalled that earlier before now, Nigerians have expressed concern over the way the apex bank boss was frolicking with politicians, and making utterances that suggest his interest in politics, and called for either his voluntary resignation or be sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari. Consequently, the eventual purchase of the forms did not come as a surprise to many when it was announced on Friday t.

In February, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential hopeful, Chief Dele Momodu, had warned of the possibility of the nation’s number one banker delving into partisan politics following his utterances and body languages, and asked the CBN Governor to resign honorably for dabbling into politics while still in office as well as for magnitudes of failures recorded under his watch.

In the press release which was exclusively made available to The Boss, Momodu accused the CBN boss of supervising an economy that has so far nosedived.

“The chicanery of a Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele dabbling into politics while still in office

“While it is the right of every Nigerian to aspire to the highest office, it is a joke carried too far for a  Central Bank Governor to remain in office while he and his well known sponsors are seeking to hijack the political process.

“Under Emefiele’s watch, Nigerian economy has nosedived yet he and his collaborators seek to deceive Nigerians that all is well. Let me say categorically that Nigeria can never be bought by a few individuals because they want to protect themselves,” Momodu said.

Echoing Momodu’s stand, a popular online medium, shortly after, called for the resignation of the CBN governor in its editorial commentary, noting that “It is our considered view that the statutory independence granted the Central Bank and its governor is compromised, if not totally eroded, when a sitting and serving Governor of the Bank becomes a closet politician angling or lobbying to be appointed to or to contest for a partisan political office. Whether he openly makes known his partisan political interest or does so through shadow proxies is immaterial.”

By the provisions of sections 9 and 11(2)(c) of the CBN Act, a Governor, Deputy Governor or Director ceases to hold office if

a. He does not devote his full time to the service of the bank;
b. Engages in full or part time vocation like politics;
c. Engages in a personal cause (like politics) which (i) conflicts with his full time duties to the bank, or (ii) detracts from his full time duties to the bank; and
d. Is guilty of serious misconduct in relation to his duties under the Act.

As a result, the CBN’s governor’s participation in politics has been termed a breach of each of these sub-heads, and consequently, deserved to be sacked if he fails to resign.

In Section 11(3) of the same Act, it is required of the Governor or a Deputy Governor of the CBN to give three months notice of his intention to resign. Ideally, Emefiele should have done this before picking up membership of APC not to mention the Presidential nomination form.

Either way, there is an issue of eligibility hanging on the the apex bank boss. Stakeholders are of the opinion that ‘if Emefiele is not an APC member, he can’t contest now because he would fall foul of the requisite membership period. If he is, then he is conflicted under the Act and should resign or be deemed to have ceased to hold office.’

This is not the first time Emefiele has been called upon to resign.

In May 2019, SaharaReporters made public a phone conversation of Emefiele; his deputy, Edward Lametek Adamu; Director for Finance, Dayo M. Arowosegbe and one of the Special Advisers to the CBN Governor, Emmanuel Ukeje discussing how to cover up the loss of over N500 billion stolen from the CBN in a private investment that collapsed. The CBN accepted the authenticity of the audio conversation, but said no money was missing from the bank.

In September of the same year, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) asked the CBN governor to resign over allegations of overseeing looting of funds in the nation’s apex bank.

According to the PDP, the allegations were based on the affirmations from the then Secretary of the National Caretaker Committee of the APC, Senator John Akpan Udoedehe during a Channels TV programme.

“The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) demands the immediate resignation and prosecution of the Governor of the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele going by allegations by the All Progressives Congress (APC) that he superintended over massive looting of funds in the CBN.

“Our party calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately invite Emefiele for questioning over allegations by the National Secretary of the illegal APC National Caretaker Committee, Senator John Akpan Udoedehe, that the CBN governor supervised over the pillaging of the nation’s vaults under his watch,” the party had said.

“Our party insists that beyond Akpan Udoedehe’s allegation, the tenure of Emefiele as CBN governor under the APC administration has witnessed colossal failures of monetary and fiscal policies, requiring him to vacate the office and hand himself over for investigation.

“It is instructive to note that when Emefiele took over office as CBN Governor in 2014, naira exchanged for N164 to a dollar. Today, in the hands of Emefiele and the APC, the naira has tumbled to a near N600 to a dollar, putting the nation’s economy on its knees.

“Painfully, under the leadership of Emefiele, the CBN has failed in its core mandate of managing the economy and took a dive into propaganda with claims that do not reflect the harsh economic reality on the ground,” it had added.

AKEREDOLU CALLS FOR EMEFIELE’S RESIGNATION

In a statement titled The CBN Governor Must Disengage Forthwith by Gov Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, it was revealed the action of the governor, is a joke taken too far. He prevailed on Emefiele to tow the line of decency and bow out of office. He said:

“The news of the purchase of Declaration of Intent and Nomination Forms to contest for the office of the President in the forthcoming general elections, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, purportedly by the supporters of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has been received with palpable disbelief and shock by many Nigerians. This act, if unchecked, timeously, portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country.

“Rumours had been rife on the subterranean partisan activities linked to him through these shadowy characters in the recent weeks. Pictures of branded vehicles, ostensibly purchased for electioneering campaigns, were also posted on the social media. The audacious moves by those who claimed to be supporting this interest have been unsettling.

“This latest news confirms that the Governor may indeed be interested in immersing himself in the murky waters of politics like any other Nigerian with partisan interests. It is incontrovertible that Mr Emefiele enjoys a constitutionally protected right to belong to any group or association and participate fully, just as any Nigerian. It is, however, difficult to imagine that a person who occupies the exalted and sensitive office of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria will be this brazen in actualizing his ambition.

“There is no gain asserting the obvious. The combined effect of the Public Service Rules, CBN Act and the 1999 Constitution, as amended, exposes not only the oddity inherent in this brash exercise of presumed right to associate. It also confirms the illegality of the act should he proceed to submit the forms while occupying the seat as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“Consequently, we admonish Mr Emefiele to leave the office, immediately, for him to pursue his interest. 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.

“This is a joke taken too far.”

PDP CALLS FOR EMEFIELE’S ARREST, PERSECUTION

The main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has called for the immediate arrest and prosecution of the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele for a catalogue of offences among which are abuse of office and financial impropriety.

This is as the boss of the apex bank purchased the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential form to contest the party primaries later this month.

The PDP made the call Saturday via a press statement signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Hon Debo Ologunagba, and made available to The Boss.

The party noted that Emefiele has violated both the CBN Act of 2007 and the Public Service Rule which forbid any public servant from holding any other office, or indulge in partisan politics.

It also accused the President Muhammadu Buhari-led APC administration of using the CBN as a conduit pipe to finance the APC long before now, and called for the immediate disengagement of the governor as CBN boss.

The statement in full:

APC Presidential Form: Emefiele Cannot Continue as CBN Governor – PDP
…Demands His Arrest, Prosecution for alleged Abuse of Office, Financial Impropriety

Gentlemen of the press,

You will recall that on March 25, 2022, our Party alerted the nation when we got intelligence that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele was being promoted by the Presidency as Presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2023 general elections.

At that time, we drew the attention of Nigerians to the provisions of the CBN Act 2007 and particularly referenced 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…”

This provision is clear in demanding that 100 percent of the time and expertise of the CBN Governor and Deputy Governors shall be dedicated to the service of the CBN. This is because the CBN is critical to the integrity and stability of our economy.

Furthermore, Section 030422 of the Public Service Rule states that no public officer shall (a) “hold any office, paid or unpaid, permanent or temporary, in any political organization”, (b) offer himself/herself or nominate anyone else as a candidate for any elective public office…”, (c) “indicate publicly his support of or opposition to any party, candidate or policy and (d) “engage in canvassing in support of political candidates” unless such officer resigns his appointment.

Importantly, Section 030502 (g) of the Rule lists “engaging in partisan political activities’ as SERIOUS ACT OF MISCONDUCT.

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.

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.

The tsunamic macro-economic and fiscal policies of the CBN under Emefiele brought untold hardship to the productive and service sectors of our nation’s economy with consequential negative effect on the lives of our citizens.

It is provocative that instead of being remorseful, Mr. Emefiele is even insulting the sensibilities of Nigerians by seeking the office of the President while still holding office as CBN Governor.

The PDP points to reports in the public space of how Emefiele’s agents through corrupt practices, including manipulation of exchange rate, allegedly amassed sum close to $1 billion dollar which is already being deployed by the purchase of hundreds of Emefiele branded campaign vehicles in the colours of the APC in furtherance of a lavish Presidential campaign.

The direct consequences of such atrocious regime in the CBN under Emefiele is the collapse of our naira from N197 to N600 to a dollar, the crippling of our productive sector, multiple economic recession, increased poverty, inflation and unemployment rates, high costs of living and excruciating hardship to our citizens.

It is indeed saddening that President Muhammadu Buhari, who promised zero tolerance for corruption will enable, encourage and condone such atrocious regime in the CBN where our economy is opened to fraudulent pillaging to promote a political ambition.

Our Party stands with Nigerians in demanding the immediate arrest, investigation and prosecution of Mr. Emefiele by security and anti-graft agencies, particularly the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged financial malfeasance and abuse of office in the CBN under his watch.

As Nigerians we are determined to confront this evil. We wish Mr. Emefiele well in his new found but ill-fated political vocation but we demand that he must be brought to account for the activities that he undertook, supervised and superintended over the years that he has been at the helm of affairs at the CBN and for which our economy is in comatose.

The PDP calls on all Nigerians; the Civil Society, Students, Organized Labour, the Media and all lovers of good governance to rise up as the PDP takes drastic actions in leading the charge to defend the integrity of the CBN, Rule of Law and ensure that those who brought our economy to its knees face the wrath of the law.

CONTEST, BUT LEAVE OUR CBN – TAMBUWAL TELLS EMEFIELE

Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State also called on the Federal Government to ensure the resignation of the Central Bank Governor.

Tambuwal, a presidential aspirant on the platform of PDP, made the call in Jalingo, shortly after interacting with the party delegates ahead of PDP presidential primaries.

The governor said that Mr Emefiele’s continued stay in office, after openly identifying himself with a political party, should not be encouraged.