The national leadership of the opposition of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) has condemned calls in some quarters on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele to join the presidential race while still in office, saying such calls already “negatively impacting the local money markets and erasing foreign investors confidence in Nigeria.”
The ADC asked Emefiele to urgently tender his resignation letter in accordance to the international best practices if he has political ambition.
In a statement signed Thursday in Abuja by the ADC’s national chairman Chief Ralphs Okey Nwosu, said flood of posters and pictures of branded vehicles all over the places asking Emefiele to contest the presidential election are condemnable.
The ADC party said it recognises Mr. Emefiele’s rights as a Nigerian and his qualifications to run for the exalted office of president “but notes that, it must be done in accordance with international best practices and the electoral law just signed by his boss, President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR.
“Emefiele should resign from his job and as well properly condemn openly all the political shenanigans around him as the office of the Governor of the Central Bank of any country is very reverred and held sacrosanct.
“The institution of the Central Bank of Nigeria cannot and should not be dragged into politics as it has never been done before since independence and must not happen now” Chief Nwosu continued.
The Honorable thing to do is to resign as this smacks of insensitivity on the part of the Presidency and the architecture of the APC to tolerate such act of impunity and this must stop forthwith, noting that this can be equated to a Judge or any of the Service Chiefs having their posters pasted all over the place calling on them to run for elective office whilst still in office. Nigeria is not a banana republic.”
Chief Nwosu added that “Emefiele continued silence is seen as consent and negatively impacting the local money markets and erasing foreign investors confidence in Nigeria.”
He reiterated with a call on the Central Bank Communication unit to immediately issue official press statement with strong warnings in all media formats to counter such calls for him to run for president.
“The earlier this is done, the better for the country.”
