Ondo State governor, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, SAN has called for the immediate resignation of Mr Godwin Emefiele as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The governor made the call in response to a report that the Declaration of Intent and Nomination Forms to contest the 2023 presidential election has been purchased for Emefiele, purportedly by his supporters.
Akeredolu, in a statement he personally signed, said the reported intention of Emefiele to contest the presidential election was “received with palpable disbelief and shock by many Nigerians”.
He said, while Emefiele has the constitutional right right to belong to and participate full in any group or association, doing so as the CBN governor is brazen.
The governor also said it is illegal for Emefiele to proceed to submit the forms as such an act contravened the Public Service Rules, CBN Act and the 1999 Constitution (as amended),
He said Emefiele should immediately disengaged as the CBN governor, adding that the act, “if unchecked, timeously, portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country.
Failure to leave office immediately to pursue his political interest, Akeredolu said it is incumbent on President Muhammadu Buhari to remove forthwith.
Akeredolu stated in the statement: “Rumours had been rife on the subterranean partisan activities linked to him through these shadowy characters in the recent weeks.
“Pictures of branded vehicles, ostensibly purchased for electioneering campaigns, were also posted on the social media. 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 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,” Akeredolu stated in the statement.
After weeks of speculations, the news went viral, earlier today, that three supporters of the CBN Governor raised N100million to buy the forms for him to contest the presidential election on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
In spite of denials by Emefiele that he has no presidential ambition, he has been linked to partisan activities in recent times, just as photos of branded vehicles for campaigns littered the social media space.
