By Ogochukwu Isioma
President Muhammadu Buhari has finally open up on why he did not sack the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, over his 2023 partisan activities.
In an interview with Bloomberg, President Buhari said the Governing Board of the CBN has the power to determine if the apex bank’s governor erred or not.
metrowatchxtra reports that Emefiele came under fire recently after a group purchased the All Progressives Congress (APC) N100 million presidential expression of interest and nomination forms for the CBN governor.
Despite the outcry against his perceived partisanship, Emefiele sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice over his eligibility.
He asked the court to stop INEC from disqualifying him from participating in the primary election of his preferred political party, a case he later withdrew.
Emefiele then went on to forgo his presidential ambition before the APC presidential primary. Amidst all these, Buhari refused to call the CBN boss to order or relieve him of his position.
Reacting to the calls by critics for Emefiele’s sacking, President Buhari said such decisions do not rest solely on him as Nigeria’s President.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Buhari said “The CBN governor is appointed by the President. But this appointment is subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.”
Among other conditions for the removal of a sitting CBN governor, the CBN Act did not list political participation as part of the grounds for the removal of a CBN governor which some of Emefiele’s critics pointed to.
According to the president, such decisions can only be determined by the board of directors of the CBN.
“Ultimately, it will be for the CBN’s board of directors to determine whether a CBN governor’s actions have fallen foul of the laws in place to ensure he can most effectively carry out his duties,” Buhari said.
The president, however, noted that “there is a subtext to the accusations” of Emefiele being unfit to remain CBN governor.
“Because the governor follows a model outside of the economic orthodoxy, he is labelled political. But the orthodoxy has proved wrong time and again,” Buhari said.
“Instead, the governor is following an alternative economic model that puts people at the heart of policy. Nigeria should be free to choose its development model and how to construct our economy, so it functions for Nigerians.”
