By Friday Omosola
Ondo State G o v e r n o r O l u w a r o t i m i Akeredolu has called for the immediate resignation of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele for him to pursue his interest of being the next President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Akeredolu said Emefiele could not combine partisan politics with the very delicate assignment of his office, saying if he refuses to quit, the incumbent President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Muhammadu Buhari should remove him with immediate effect.
Recall that the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, had on Friday picked the expression of interest and nomination forms to contest the presidential ticket on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Emefiele’s form was obtained for him at the office of the party’s organising secretary, at the International Conference Centre (ICC) in Abuja.
Akeredolu in a statement he personally signed in Akure said that Governor Emefiele may be interested in immersing himself in the murky waters of politics like any other Nigerian with partisan interests, adding that he enjoys a constitutionally protected right to belong to any group or association and participate fully, just as any Nigerian.
He added that It was difficult for Emefiele who occupies the exalted and sensitive office of the Governor of the CBN to be brazen in actualizing his ambition.
His words: “The news of the purchase of Declaration of Intent and Nomination Forms to contest for the office of the President in the forthcoming general elections, on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, purportedly by the supporters of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has been received with palpable disbelief and shock by many Nigerians.
This act, if unchecked, timeously, portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country. “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 social media.
The audacious moves by those who claimed to be supporting this interest have been unsettling.
“There is no gain asserting the obvious.
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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.”
