By Linus Aleke
As 2023 General Elections draws nearer, a socio-political group, under the umbrella of ‘The Green Alliance Movement,’ (TGA), on Saturday said the incumbent Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele is the right man for the 2023 presidency.
The group also said that Mr. Emefiele has demonstrated competence in the management of the nation’s monetary policy, hence the call on him to throw his hat on the ring for the 2023 presidency.
Calling on the CBN governor to offer himself the plum job ahead of time, the Convener of the movement, Barrister Wale Fapohunda in a press conference in Abuja said, that Nigeria needs a competent, visionary, and energetic leader like Emefiele to move the country to the level.
He said that if the CBN Governor declares interest now to run for Presidency on the platform of the ruling All Progressive Congress, he will be the youngest amongst those who had indicated interest thus far.
According to him, “As the CBN Governor, we believe that he possesses the skill, the intellectual wherewithal, the wit, and the managerial acumen to navigate any form of political obstacles that will come his way as a leader. He is a 60 years old man, so I cannot say he is youth but he is highly experienced.
“Based on what he had done in CBN, we do not doubt our minds whatsoever that his presidency will have a positive impact on the nation Nigeria”.
Barrister Fapohunda said the Green Alliance Movement is an independent body with no affiliation with the CNN governor.
He added that “If he decides not to run, which of course is not possible, we will continue as a movement. I can tell you authoritatively, with the little I know about him, that as a patriotic and detribalized person, who wants the progress of the country, by the grace of almighty God he will run”.
On her, the Director of Mobilization Ms. A. Angela said the group is calling on Mr. Godwin Emefiele to run for the highest office in the country, the President of Nigeria, in 2023.
“We believe that he is the right person to lead this nation. We believe he will lead us to find peace and the security we are all yearning for. We believe he will bring us prosperity. Nigeria needs progress and Mr. Emefiele will not only bring peace to us but will build a strong Nigeria that we will all be proud of. He will create jobs and strengthen our economy,” she concluded.
Mr. Godwin Emefiele is the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Before he joined the CBN, he spent over 26 years in commercial banking culminating in his tenure as Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank PLC, one of Nigeria’s largest banks with over 7,000 staff, about US$3.2 billion in shareholders’ funds, and subsidiaries in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, South Africa, China, and the United Kingdom.
Under Emefiele’s leadership, Zenith Bank had strengthened its position as a leading financial institution in Africa, winning recognition and endorsement at home and abroad for giant strides in key performance areas like corporate governance, service delivery, and deployment of cutting-edge ICT.
Before his banking career, he was a lecturer in Finance and Insurance in two Nigerian Universities. Mr. Emefiele holds degrees in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, and is also an alumnus of Stanford University, Harvard, and Wharton Graduate Schools of Business where he took courses in Negotiation, Service Excellence, Critical Thinking, Leading Change, and Strategy.
