10th June, 2023
Eluemelem Jennifer
Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has urged President Bola Tinubu to give Godwin Emefiele the chance to defend himself.
Speaking on Saturday, Omokri started by asking about the whereabout of the suspended CBN governor.
He urged President Tinubu not to lock Emefiele up and turn the public against him without the chance of fair hearing.
Omokri said: “Where is Godwin Emefiele? The Tinubu administration should not lock him up and begin to make public allegations against him. This is precisely what Buhari did to Jonathan administration officials as soon as he took over in 2015. They were locked up, and while incarcerated, allegations were made to turn the public against them, without giving them an opportunity to defend themselves. We had hoped those dark days were behind us. Question Emefiele and even accuse him, but let him have the chance to defend himself against these rumours and innuendo. Where is he? Under what legal order is he being held? Let Nigerians hear from him. Having begun so well, President Tinubu should not continue the draconian practices as his immediate predecessor. This is similar to what Abacha did, which drove even Tinubu to exile in 1994.”
President Tinubu had on Friday ordered the immediate suspension of Emefiele as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN Governor’s suspension is a sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the economy’s financial sector.
Mr Emefiele was also directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of the investigation and the reforms.
The suspended CBN governor assumed office in 2014 after succeeding Lamido Sanusi, who was equally suspended from office under controversial circumstances by President Goodluck Jonathan few months before the expiration of his tenure.