Arewa Peace Initiative, a group of Northerners in the diaspora has warned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele not to contest for the 2023 presidential election.
According to the group, Emefiele’s abysmal performance as CBN Governor was the worst in the history of Nigeria as the nation’s economy collapsed twice under his watch.
The group in a statement by its President, Dr. Umar Muhammad, advised Emefiele to complete his job as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria rather than nursing a provocative ambition
The group noted that Emefiele’s presidential ambition was dead on arrival citing his poor knowledge in politics and failure in the field he claims expertise.
Emefiele was also accused of using his position as CBN Governor to patronize Northern businessmen and politicians by providing special foreign exchange rate against CBN policy.
“Emefiele’s presidential ambition is dead on arrival because no sensible Nigerian will support him. Nigerians are still suffering from his abysmal performance as CBN Governor.
“We understand that he has done his best by empowering people like Aliko Dangote and others through special foreign exchange against CBN policy . We also understand that he has corrupted the National Assembly committee Chairmen both Senate and House of Representatives with foreign exchange, such that there is no more oversight of CBN . All these and many more we know but we won’t allow him to bury uninformed Nigerians alive . It is important he forgets 2023 general election and focus on how he would survive rotting in jail .”
The group further urged Nigerians to prevail on the Senate Committee on Finance to begin probe on the activities of Emefiele and the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“Emefiele as CBN governor has witnessed colossal failures of monetary and fiscal policies. It is instructive to note that when Emefiele took over office as CBN Governor in 2014, naira exchanged for N164 to a dollar. Today, the naira has tumbled to a near N600 to a dollar, putting the nation’s economy on its knees. Senator Uba Sani and members of his Committee should urgently probe the activities of the CBN Governor.
“Painfully, under the leadership of Emefiele, the CBN has failed in its core mandate of managing the economy. The same Emefiele having failed Nigerians as CBN Governor is now planning to become the President,” the group said.