Akeredolu tackles Emefiele, warns Buhari against blinking over illegality

Ondo Governor Rotimi Akeredolu has warned President Muhammadu Buhari against watching on as CBN Gov. Godwin Emefiele become partisan while in office, contrary to the CBN Act.

Akeredolu further described the news of Emefiele’s purchase of Declaration of Intent and Nomination Forms to contest for the office of the President as shocking.

“The audacious moves by those who claimed to be supporting this interest have been unsettling. This latest news confirms that the Governor may indeed be interested in immersing himself in the murky waters of politics like any other Nigerian with partisan interests.

“Consequently, we admonish Mr Emefiele to leave the office, immediately, for him to pursue his interest. 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.”

Akeredolu said that although Emefiele enjoys a constitutionally protected right to belong to any group or association just as any Nigerian, “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.”

Emefiele joined the scramble for the APC primary ticket on Friday.