There are intense pressure on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Governor of the Central Bank (CBN) Godwin Emefiele and the Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami for disobedience to the Supreme Court judgement on the controversial Naira policy.
The incoming administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu is also urged to immediately prosecute the duo of Emefiele and Malami for treason, disobedience to Court judgement and economic sabotage among others, once he takes over by May 29, 2023.
In a suit against the federal government by three APC governors, Supreme Court had legalised the use of N200, N500 and N1000 notes as legal tender till December 2023.
The suit was initiated against the federal government by three governors, including Nasir El-rufai of Kaduna, Bello Matawalle of Zamfara and Yahaya Bello of Kogi state.
Addressing a press conference Wednesday in Abuja, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) from Edo state, John Mayaki, said for President Buhari to fully redeem himself and prove his non-involvement in “the evil conspiracy against ordinary Nigerians and small businesses across the country, he must, in line with his constitutional powers and obligations as the nation’s leader, hold those responsible for this sabotage to account.”
Reacting to the refusal of CBN to obey the Supreme Court order over the Naira policy, the presidency had said the CBN and other relevant agencies do not require a prompt from the President to obey a court ruling — especially the country’s apex court, in line with his respect for the rule of law, a principle, they claimed, he has upheld since his emergence as the country’s leader.
Earlier, an APC’s National Vice Chairman North-west, Malam Salihu Moh Lukman, had called for Emefiele and Malami’ sack, saying “it is unfortunate that President Muhammadu Buhari could be misled into such acts of illegality and abuse of executive powers as pronounced by the Supreme Court.”
Mayaki also said the President must go further and beyond the statement and take actions and measures that will restore confidence and hope in the judiciary and the country’s battered economy, adding that such must begins with an immediate sack of Mr. Godwin Emefiele and Malami Abubakar.
“Without mincing words, our demand as Nigerians is that there must be a reckoning for the disaster of the past few months — and it must begin with the leading culprits in the persons of Mr. Godwin Emefiele and his chief backer, Mr. Malami Abubakar, the Honorable Minister of Justice who has failed to distinguish himself in this sad debacle.
“The reason for this is self-explanatory. Not only has Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the central banker turned politician, done an almost irreparable damage to the nation’s economy, wiping out small businesses and condemning Nigerians with an inescapable reliance on cash to death by hunger. He has also achieved the opposite of what he was appointed to do, which is the design and implementation of monetary policies to promote stability and investments. The country has been pushed to a cliff and investors are fleeing in droves. There is no objective reason for Emefiele, the most infamous central banker in the country’s history, to continue in his role.
“As for Minister Malami, his dodgy interpretations of the law and questionable devotion to political interests that are demonstrably against national wellbing have shown that his commitment is first to his shady political ambitions, before the rule of law and public interests. For that, he simply must be relieved of his role and must let loose to focus his attention and doubtful abilities on the selfish ambition he trained his sights on since the very day he received his oath of office.
“For the President to fully exonerate himself from culpability, he should immediately sack his Attorney General, Mr. Abubakar Malami and the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
“It is not enough for the CBN Governor to announce his surrender to the Supreme Court judgement – both the President, the management of the Apex bank must make sure that Nigerians are able to access their money without any inhibitions. The unnecessary queues must immediately disappear from the banks, filling stations, ATMs, hospitals, markets/shopping malls, PoS, among others.”
The APC chieftain also asked the President-elect, Bola Tinubu to take the prosecution of the duo of Emefiele and Malami as priority iimmidiately is sworn in.
Mayaki said: “The President-elect, Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu has a task on his hands – and this is not only urgent, it is a matter of national importance – he must immediately sack the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, if he survives this present administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The incoming administration must set up a panel of inquiry to probe Emefiele and Malami, charge them to Court for treason, disobedience to Court judgement and economic sabotage among other related offences commensurate with all the crimes they jointly and individually committed against Nigerians and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
