The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has shown Nigerians how fierce he desires to rule the country by his current contention with the nation’s constitutional provision surrounding political occupancy.
This new development has taken Nigerians by surprise, given the general knowledge that the CBN boss should have no meddling romance with political affairs. Instead, his core focus should be on the management of the economy through the instrumentality of monetary impulses within the domain of monetary policymaking.
Unfortunately, the supposed apolitical role seems not to be the CBN boss’ concern anymore, and his new delight is to contend for the presidential seat while he remains the apex bank’s commander.
With the CBN slowly losing its grip over its core mandate of defending the integrity of the nation’s currency and controlling erratic domestic price movements, as well as failing to augment efforts to promote a solid financial system in the country under his watch, Mr Emefiele’s bid for the nation’s number-one position seems like a shadow chase and a pointer towards a catastrophic regime, should he get lucky with his ambition.
Provided in the amended Electoral Act 2022, which was signed by President Muhammadu Buhari, section 84(12), the law states that “no political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
Further establishing this position in the wake of the coming general 2023 elections, the presidency has made it clear that “political and public office holders desirous of participating in the political process, either as a contestant for an elective position or as a delegate, should resign their appointment on or before Thursday, April 14, 2022.”
In absolute disregard for the above, Mr Emefiele has petitioned legal forces to stop the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation from disqualifying him from contesting for the presidential ticket in any party of his choice ahead of the 2023 general elections. Meanwhile, there are reports that some groups have provided the necessary support for the N100 million fee for his APC presidential declaration of interest and nomination forms.
A Delta State High Court in the Kwale division of the state has been reported to grant the CBN governor’s appeal by granting an order restraining the Board of the CBN and INEC from disqualifying him from seeking an elective post while maintaining his position as the CBN governor. With this order, Mr Emefiele now has the comfort of remaining in office while contesting for president. The court application was filed on May 5, 2022, and the judgement was granted on May 12, 2022.
Meanwhile, in obedience to the amended electoral law, up to 10 sitting cabinet ministers have resigned to allow an unhindered contest in the 2023 general elections. The president has promised to reshuffle the cabinet to fill in the blanks as quickly as possible.
Governor Emefiele’s current bid to grasp the position of power without regard to the law casts a thick cloud around his true intentions for the country. While the performance of the apex monetary authority under his care has faced a series of backlash from economic observers and experts from different angles of intellectual thought, his desire to do more for the country may yield no better result than is currently experienced as the apex bank’s chief.
Read also: CBN Governor, Emefiele withdraws his presidential bid
Also, his confidence to disdain sovereign tenets surrounding elective office shows how weak Nigeria’s system of governance is since there may be no consequences for his seemingly unpatriotic action.
Mocking public opinion about his rattling desire for power while spitting in the face of the law, the CBN boss recently replied to journalists when asked about his presidential ambition, “Let them have a heart attack. It is good to have a heart attack. I am having a lot of fun.” To think that this response is directed at over 200 million Nigerians over which he desires to lead if he wins is nothing short of disappointing, to say the least.
Exemplary leadership requires a track record of antecedent performance and a will to do better if given the opportunity. Also, a great leader need not force or accrue power onto himself; instead, people would usually submit themselves to be led by those they deem most deserving of that opportunity, given the past record of excellence and good stewardship. Sadly, but not surprising, it does not seem that Mr Emefiele is the man for the job by public opinion, at least not now; hence, the public backlash and anxiety.
It would be preferred if Mr Governor could sit tight and govern the apex bank better. Perhaps, suppose he makes a better effort at correcting the current economic challenges through more disciplined monetary policies and interventions, he may stand the chance of winning the heart of Nigerians in the future.
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