Emefiele Knows ‘Next To Nothing’ About Banking, — Ex-NBA VP Asks For CBN Gov’s Resignation

John Aikpokpo-Martins, first vice president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, has asked the
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to resign for using his office to seek electoral office.

The call came on Tuesday about 24 hours after Emefiele’s lawyers withdrew his application before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja in which he had sought for further interpretation as to whether he was constitutionally allowed to run for the office of the president under any political party platform.

THE WHISTLER had reported on May 9 that Emefiele, through his counsel, Mike Ozekhome SAN, had
asked the court to order that he “cannot be hindered, stopped, or precluded from participating, voting or being voted for at the convention or Congress of any political party of his choice for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for the election to the office of president or any other office under the 1999 constitution (as amended).”

At the time, the suit was obviously filed in view of the controversial Section 84 (12) of the Electoral Act 2022 which bars political appointees from voting or being voted for.

While the Independent National Electoral Commission and the Attorney General of the Federation were sued by Emefiele, the People’s Democratic party and one other group joined as parties to the suit.

But on May 23, the CBN Governor’s lawyers told Justice A.R. Mohammed that he was discontinuing with the case.

The judge subsequently struck it out.

But on Tuesday, Aikpokpo-Martins, who was part of the lawyers in the case, took to his Facebook page to call for the CBN’s governor’s resignation.

He alleged that Emefiele’s involvement in politics negatively affected his duties as CBN Governor.

He wrote on Facebook:

“Now we know why the naira lie prostrate, dehydrated and asphyxiated; Godwin Emefiele knows everything about politicking but next to nothing about central banking.

“Godwin Emefiele must resign as the Governor of Central Bank for gross misconduct and for unrepentantly, consciously and petulantly breaching his statutory terms of employment and engagement with the Nigerian public.

“Nigerians have lost trust and faith in him.”