A group Concerned Citizen Movement for a Better Nigeria has given the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele 48 hours to publicly disassociate himself from groups championing his presidential ambition.
The group said it is disrespectful for the CBN Governor to nurture Presidential ambition while occupying a sensitive post which is key to the economic stability of the country.
The National President of the group Moses Sambo in a statement made available to journalists in Abuja, said if Emefiele has presidential ambition, he should resign as the Governor of the apex and join full time politics.
Sambo said the Nigerian economy has witnessed crisis in recent times as a result of the non-commitment and distraction from the CBN Governor since he started nurturing presidential ambition.
“It is disturbing to see a situation where a Central Bank Governor will be having an ambition to become the president while he has been unable to stabilize the economy.
“As a group we frown at this and give the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele 48 hours to disassociate himself from all those sponsored presidential campaign projecting him to contest in 2023”.
The group recalled that in 2014 when Emefiele was appointed CBN Governor, $1 was exchanged for N183 but under his watch, $1 exchanges for N413.
Furthermore, he said due to the crisis in the Nigerian economy, the masses have been subjected to an untold hardship as the prices of food has styrocked by over 50 percent.
The group said instead of the faceless groups to push the CBN Governor into Presidential election, they should rather push him into stabilising the economy and reducing hardship in the country.
The Group’s National President said the ongoing agricultural programme of the CBN under Emefiele had gulped over N850 billion yet essential food items like rice and maize is still very expensive for the common man to afford.
“Emefiele should be more concerned about accountability in office and delivering on his mandate instead of meddling into politics”, Sambo said.
He said all these economic crisis is as a result of the man in charge of managing the economy is busy nurturing presidential ambition, hence leaving his primary duty.
“I strongly believe that Emefiele has a duty to perform as the CBN Governor, and President Muhammadu Buhari has given him the mandate to stabilize the economy, which he must focus on and perish his presidential ambition”.
Sambo said it is an embarrassment for Nigeria as a country in the international community that a person saddled with the responsibility of stabilising the country’s economy is meddling into politics.
He maintained that the Presidential ambition of Emefiele has done great damage to the nation’s economy, and urged him to resign and save the nation’s economy from collapse and join the Presidential race formally.
“In 2014 when former President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Emefiele as the CBN Governor, our Exchange rate was $1 to N183, but look at now, $1 exchanges for about N413, this is not good.
“If this continues this way, our economy will collapse because the man in charge of stabilising the economy is being distracted by politics.
“It is either he resigns and join politics of he denounce presidential ambition and focus on reviving the nation’s economy which has collapsed under his watch”, he added.