Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo state says Central Bank governor Godwin Emefiele cannot remain on his job while prosecuting a presidential ambition and that it will be illegal for him to submit the nomination form which a group has procured for him.
Akeredolu, a senior advocate and member of the APC also called on President Muhammadu Buhari remove the CBN governor for obtaining a nomination form for the APC presidential contest.
Other critics including lawyers, human rights activists and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party have also spoken in similar vein.
Akeredolu, in a statement he signed on Friday, said allowing Emefiele to remain in office while being strongly linked to a presidential ambition would, “if unchecked timeously portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country.”
According to the governor “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.
“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.”
Festus Ogun, a human rights lawyer has also called on the president to urgently sack the apex bank governor after reports that a presidential nomination form had been procured for him.
The lawyer’s call followed reports that the All Progressives Congress Expression of Interest and Nomination forms were purchased for Emefiele by a coalition comprising Rice Farmers Association, Emefiele Support Group and Friends of Godwin on Friday.
The CBN governor has in the past denied having an interest in the presidency but has yet to speak on the collection of forms.
Ogun expressed fear that the treasury of Nigeria is no longer safe in the hands of Emefiele and hinging his call on section 9 of the CBN Act, 2007 which he said provides that ‘the governor and the deputy governors shall devote the whole of their time to the service of the bank, and while holding office, shall not engage in any full or part-time employment or vocation, whether remunerated or not’.
In his statement, the national Publicity Secretary of the opposition People Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Debo Ologunagba said that the CBN Act clearly stated that the governor and deputy governors of the bank must be fully dedicated to their jobs.
According to him, “The CBN governor is governed by the CBN Act. Section 9 is unambiguously clear about what the CBN governor and deputies should do and it says they shall devote the whole of their time to the service of the bank and they will not engage in any other vocation.
“Now, his action is completely in contravention of that Act and that amounts to gross misconduct and that qualifies him to be removed from office in line with Section 11 of the Act. This is completely irresponsible and at variance with our laws.”
A Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Seyi Sowemimo, says the CBN governor” could not afford the distraction of the presidential bid.
He said, “I have been seeing posters and been hearing that he is interested, but I saw it as a joke, because when you are managing the economy, I don’t think you have the time for this sort of distraction. With the way the economy is now, they should be fully engaging his attention and it even requires more than the time he can spare. But if he wants to do it, he should resign.
“For many of those people who want to contest, they should resign because the time and the effort that they will require to do these things will definitely impact adversely on their abilities to discharge the functions of the offices they are occupying.
“Of all offices, the one that will really require the occupants to stay away from politics is that of the CBN governor and more so because the way the economy is now requires somebody who will devote 100 per cent of his time; so, what does he want to be doing campaigning all over the country and leaving the office to the deputy governor or what?”
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