• Says Presidential Ambition ‘A Joke Taken Too Far’
Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has frowned at the decision of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, to join the presidential race of the forthcoming 2023 election despite still being in the saddle as CBN’s gov.
Akeredolu, in a statement issued on Friday, described the reported intention of Emefiele to contest the presidential election as shocking, which portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country.
Recall that on Friday, a coalition comprising Rice Farmers Association, Emefiele Support Group, and Friends of Godwin, obtained the N100m nomination and expression of interest forms for the CBN Governor.
Akeredolu, in his reaction, said the announcement of Emefiele’s bid was received with palpable disbelief and shock by many Nigerians.
Though the Governor said Emefiele is constitutionally qualified to contest, however, he should not do so while being the CBN governor.
He argued that according to Section 9 of the CBN Act, 2007, the apex bank governor must not venture into any other vocation while in office and must resign in writing to the President if he nursed such intention.
The statement reads, “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 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.
“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,” Akeredolu added.
The New Diplomat reports that sixty-year-old Emefiele was appointed the CBN governor in 2014.
The report of his interest in the 2023 presidential election is comings after months of calls from various interest groups urging Emefiele to throw his hat in the ring and contest for the office of the president in the 2023 general election.
However, Emefiele in what appeared to be a response to calls for him to run for the country’s presidency in 2023, maintained that his focus at that point in time was to formulate a robust monetary policy and fight inflation which is now a global problem.
