‘Emefiele deserves support, not distraction’

A socio-political organisation, Advocates for Democracy and Good Governance (ADGG), has pledged its support for Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, saying, “what he needs to succeed in office is support and not distraction.”

The group stated this on the heel of some published articles, which the group described as campaign of calumny suspected to be sponsored by the Fifth Columnists in the system, saying, “no amount of falsehood can tarnish the image of a patriotic Nigerian like Emefiele.”

A released signed by Alabode Ribidesi, national president of the organisation, after its biennial congress in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, it wondered the motives behind such “unwarranted attack on somebody who is doing well in office,” saying, “the most interesting thing is that Mr. President has confidence in the man under discussion.”

The release expressed delight on how the CBN governor is assisting President Muhammadu Buhari to move the country forward by embarking on a sustained policy and action on diversifying the economy away from dependence on oil.

“This is a critical step towards ensuring that both our revenues and forex reserve accretion are not adversely affected by changes in the prices of oil,” the group noted.

The concerned group therefore gave kudos to the CBN under Emefiele for being very forceful in deploying its development funds for manufacturing, Small Scale Enterprises (SMEs) and agriculture, pointing out that “though these structural changes may take time to be fully felt, its benefits are already being gradually felt.”

The release further said that it was highly gratifying that “Emefiele, in the midst of the smear campaigns, has never been found wanting in his job; he has never been accused of stealing or fraud,” pointing out that, “Emefiele’s track record at Zenith Bank, the financial outfit that he put on proper footing, has shown him to be a round peg in a round hole.”

While warning detractors to have a rethink and join hands with other patriots to support the CBN boss in the overall interest of the country, the group stated that, “given the economic situation in the country now, albeit, the world over, what Emefiele, an expert in Risk Management, deserves is our collective support for him and President Buhari’s administration to steer the ship of this country to political, social and economic safety.”

The ADGG, according to the release, expected those peddling falsehood against Emefiele to have come out and apologised to the nation after realising that the charted private jet to his mother’s burial story was a figment of their own imagination.

“Who are really behind the falsehood? What are the motives of the sponsors? Is it because he is a Christian? Whose interest are they serving?” these are some questions the group wants answers to just as it gave kudos to President Buhari for having confidence in Emefiele, who it described as, “the right man for the job.”