Nigeria’s Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, blamed Godein Emefiele, former governor of the Central Bank, for the current economic woes and attendant hardship in the country due to certain monetary policies and actions he implemented during his tenure.
Akpabio alleged that certain monetary policies and actions implemented by Emefiele during his tenure have left behind a trail of multiple debts and an economic mess for the current administration to navigate.
The Senate President said this during a thanksgiving service in Rivers State on Sunday.
Akpabio criticized Emefiele, highlighting the severity of the economic situation and emphasizing the challenges faced by Nigerians, including hunger and the struggle to afford three square meals a day.
“The kind of debts and economic mess that we are in, a lot of people do not understand”, he said, stressing that the “weak economy” inherited by the current administration is as a result of the policies implemented by Emefiele.
However Akpabio said the federal government is still undecided on which allegations to prosecute Emefiele for, citing options ranging from “illegal possession of firearm” and “printing notes without income”, among others.
“So, the kind of debt and economic mess that we are in, a lot of people will not understand but I remember President Obama saying that you cannot know Washington until you get to Washington,” Akpabio said.
“So the kind of debt and economic mess that we are in, a lot of people will not understand but I remember President Obama saying that you cannot know Washington until you get to Washington.
“So, by the time we went in to look at the economic situation of the country, it was terrible. You know that the former governor of the central bank, we did not even know what to charge him with. Whether to charge him for putting foam on top of the bill or to charge him for illegal possession of firearm or to charge him for printing notes without income, I don’t know what we are going to charge him with”, the Senate President said.
“But what we can is that yes there is hunger today because of the policies and actions that they took, and we recognise that, and I think every political party should recognise that there is hunger, and we are battling to ensure that Nigerians sleep with their eyes closed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Akpabio assured that the government is actively working to address insecurity and improve the living conditions of Nigerians. He urged patience from the citizens, emphasizing that solving the deep-rooted issues that have persisted for almost 60 years cannot be achieved in a short timeframe.
The Senate President also reaffirming the government’s commitment to tackling the challenges faced by the nation and called on Nigerians to support the efforts during this transformative period.
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