The wild speculations as to the authenticity of the claims of the presidential aspirations of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s, (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele was finally vindicated when on Friday a group of the committee of friends acquired the expression of interest and nomination forms for him. The former Ogun State Governor Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, and Senator Ajayi Boroffice have also been counted among those picking the ₦100 million presidential nomination forms.
Reacting to the news, a human rights lawyer, Mr. Festus Ogun called on the President, Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Mr. Ogun made the call not long after the information of the coalition which includes the Rice Farmers Association, and Emefiele Support Group among others, obtained the forms for him.
It was stated that until now the CBN governor had denied ever having an interest in the presidency. He however refrained from talking about the collection of forms. Mr. Ogun expressed issues that the treasury of the country was no longer in secure hands.
He said: “CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele has picked the ₦100 million APC presidential nomination and expression of interest form. This is illegal, morally reprehensible, and weakens anything that is left of our institutions. Section 9 of the CBN Act, 2007 states that ‘the governor and the deputy shall dedicate the entirety of their time to the service of the bank, and whilst holding office, shall not engage in any full or parttime employment or vocation, whether remunerated or not.’ Politics is a vocation and the CBN governor is no longer allowed by way of law to have interaction in partisan politics. It is unthinkable that Emefiele, despite his embarrassing failure, will dismiss regulation and morality and vie for the presidency under the ruling APC. Our national vault is no longer safe.
“Mr. Godwin Emefiele must immediately resign his role as CBN governor to save our country from this unthinkable absurdity. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) should straight away commence a thorough investigation into Emefiele’s time in office. Finally, I call on President Muhammadu Buhari to invoke his statutory powers under Section eleven (2) of the CBN Act to sack Emefiele. The National Assembly and civil society agencies are equally enjoined to intervene in this eccentric institutional desecration. All will now be well.”
