By Olusegun Olanrewaju
Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal, yesterday called on the Federal Government to effect the resignation of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

Three interest groups had on Friday purchased the All Progressives Congress (APC) N100m presidential nomination and expression of interest forms for the CBN governor.

Following the development, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA), and the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, among others also called for Emefiele’s resignation and probe.

But the CBN governor, while reacting through his verified Twitter handle, at the weekend, rejected the forms.

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He said should he decide to contest for the political office, he would prefer to use his resources.

HEDA had specifically cited Section 9 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act which barred the CBN governor and his deputies from engaging in politics and other businesses, as the reason for its call.

However, Tambuwal, a presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said that Emefiele’s continued stay in office, after openly identifying himself with a political party, should not be encouraged.

He made his call at the weekend in Jalingo, shortly after interacting with the party delegates ahead of the PDP presidential primaries.

In the same vein, the Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu, while reacting to the presidential bid of Emefiele, charged him to resign or face sack by Nigeria’s president.

Akeredolu said, “This act, if unchecked, timeously, portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country. 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.

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“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 actualising his ambition. There is no gain in 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.”
•Sokoto gov’s call, others baseless- group

However, a group under the aegis of Ideas Nigeria Movement (INM), dismissed calls by various persons and associations that the CBN governor should resign, describing such calls as baseless.

INM, a group of Nigerians with a focus on national unity, innovation, and capacity said it was purchasing nomination forms for the CBN governor to contest in the forthcoming primary of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for the presidential ticket of the party.

Executive Secretary, INM, Nadodo Abubakar, in a statement yesterday, said that Emefiele had not breached any law, especially the constitution, hence should not resign.

Abubakar said that Emefiele had admitted that a group of farmers had purchased the N100m forms on his behalf, but had rejected the form, as he was yet to decide on contesting for the presidency.

Similarly, a group, Ethnic Youth Leaders (EYL), has come in defence of the CBN governor, saying those attacking Emefiele, leaving ADB president, Akinwumi Adeshina, were only displaying ethnic bigotry.

They flayed recent statements against Emefiele, by the trio of Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State, constitutional lawyer, Prof Itse Sagay, as well as activist publisher, Omoyele Sowore, following his perceived 2023 presidential ambition.

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Recall that three groups, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria, Friends of Emefiele, and Emefiele Support Group, on Friday purchased the ruling party’s expression of interest and nomination forms for the CBN governor to vie for the presidential slot in the forthcoming general election.

The development has drawn attention, attracting a barrage of criticisms against the CBN governor.

•As ICPC responds to HEDA’s petition against apex bank’s boss

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has responded to a petition filed against Emefiele by the Human and Environmental Development Agenda (HEDA Resource Centre) last month.

HEDA noted that Section 9 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act barred the CBN governor and his deputies from engaging in politics and other businesses.

It said unless such a person resigns, and contrary to public expectations, the governor of the apex bank refused to resign and pursue politics, neither did he disassociate himself from those heralding his coming, even after a series of petitions compelling him to do the honourable thing.

According to HEDA, the section in question reads thus: “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, except such personal or charitable causes as may be determined by the board and which do not conflict with or detract from their full-time duties.”

As the event unfolds, HEDA petitioned the ICPC to take swift action to prevent the breach of the CBN Act by the governor, by promptly and diligently investigating the motive and sponsors of The Green Alliance Movement, and if any foul play was uncovered, such culprits should be prosecuted accordingly.

In a response signed by the petition registrar, H.S Folaranmi, on behalf of the chairman of the commission, Bolaji Owasanoye, to HEDA, ICPC acknowledged HEDA’s petition and averred to act accordingly.

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HEDA’s chairman, Olanrewaju Suraju, confirmed that its petition, among others, must have prompted Emefiele to come up with its latest statement on his tweeter handle thus, “This is a serious decision that requires God’s divine intervention, in the next few days the Almighty will so direct.”

The HEDA boss maintained that Emefiele had been involved in politics, and a member of APC contrary to the law, “by telling Nigerians that within the week, he would let Nigerians know his stand (to run or not) after hearing from God, It then means he’s been involved in politics and member of APC, contrary to the law.”

He reminded Emefiele that failure to publicly state his position on the 2023 general election would not only be precarious to Nigeria’s currently fragile economy, but inimical to the country’s financial integrity.

He added that the current state of the economy requires all actors to stay focused on the task of repositioning Nigeria on a trajectory of prosperity.

“Going by our mandate as a leading anti-corruption organisation in Nigeria, we expect every political aspirant to play by the rules, but they must remember that good governance remains the hallmark of democracy”.