A group of nine civil society organisations (CSOs) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to resign to pursue his partisan interests.
Emefiele has been under pressure since a group of millionaire farmers allegedly bought for him an All Progressives Congress (APC) Expression of Interest and Nomination Form for the Office of President.
He has also been confirmed to be a registered member of the ruling APC as far back as February 2021.
The coalition of CSOs – BudgIT, Enough is Enough (EiE), Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) and Dataphyte, Centre for Women’s Health and Information, Community Life Project (CLP), Sesor Empowerment Foundation, The Electoral Hub and Women Advocates Research and Documentation Centre (WARDC) – say Emefiele’s actions undermine the credibility of the CBN and democracy in Nigeria.
‘The collective stated that it is important to remind Nigerians of these critical issues in light of the decision by Godwin Emefiele, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to contest for the office of president’, the CSOs said in a statement.
‘The CBN Act (2007) was written to protect the CBN from external political interference, not expecting that the interference could be internal at the highest level.
‘If there is any doubt to the implied and expected neutrality of the CBN, Nigerians should be reminded that the materials for our elections are kept in CBN offices across the country and the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (an agency of the CBN) prints some of our election materials’.
Under Emefiele’s watch, the apex bank has funded the federal government’s deficits above the legally permissible limit, and the bank has not published its annual reports since 2018.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the resignation of Emefiele and other political appointees seeking to contest the 2023 elections.
The order was given in a circular issued by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha.
It was gathered that the CBN governor was copied in the circular titled, ‘Ministers, Heads of Government Agencies, Ambassadors and Other Appointees with Political Ambitions to Resign’.
‘For the avoidance of doubt, this directive affects all ministers, heads and members of extra-ministerial departments, agencies and parastatals of government, ambassadors, as well as other political appointees who desire to contest for elective offices’, it read.
Source: EiE
Photo source: Central Bank of Nigeria
