The outgoing governor of Zamfara state, Bello Matawalle, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to grant Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele a ‘study permit’ a few days before the inauguration of a new administration.
Mr Matawalle, in a statement sent to Newslodge, alleged that the reason Mr Emefiele allegedly sought such a study permit was “apparently in an attempt to evade accountability”.
“CBN Governor Emefiele oversaw the management of the country’s financial and monetary systems. He is the one who initiated and implemented the recent disastrous Naira exchange policy, the Naira confiscation program, which put Nigerians in untold trouble and trauma and set our economy back.
“This same Emefiele now wants to proceed with study leave with about 10 months left on his term apparently in an attempt to evade accountability. This is unacceptable. President Buhari should not allow this,” the governor of Zamfara wrote.
Neither Mr. Emefiele nor the CBN have announced that the former has applied for such study leave despite reports in the media.
On Sunday, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu said he was not aware of said study permit.
“Emefiele must remain at his job to give a full account of everything that happened under his tenure to the incoming administration. He must answer all the questions that the new regime may have for him, especially when he still has a few months left in his mandate,” the Zamfara governor wrote in his Monday statement.
Read the full statement below.
My plea to President Muhammadu Buhari to stop all study licenses, foreign transfers, postings by officials critical of the incoming administration’s takeoff.
Beyond his administration’s remarkable achievements in all sectors, President Muhammadu Buhari has shown that he is a patriot, a democrat, and a man of impeccable integrity and character. Perhaps more than ever before, this has been on display even in the twilight of his administration. President Buhari has about two weeks left in his eventful term.
Last week, he and his family officially moved from their Aso Rock Presidential Villa residence to a place called the Glass House, also within the Villa compound.
The governor of the state of Zamfara, Bello Matawalle.
And we witnessed an astonishingly respectable spectacle as First Lady Aisha Buhari took Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on a tour of the Presidential Villa, her future home.
President Buhari and his wife Aisha Buhari have shown good faith and have shown that they want a peaceful, orderly and smooth transfer of power to the incoming administration. They are eager to ensure that the new regime gets off the ground smoothly and quickly and without any impediment in the interest of our country. This is the right thing to do and I congratulate President Buhari and his wife on their statesmanship.
The President and his wife have demonstrated good faith.
However, other government officials have acted differently. They are behaving as if they want to put keys in the job for the incoming regime. President Buhari should not allow this. He must frown upon any attempt by anyone to seek to damage the good work he has done.
This is the significance of this press release today. I want, here and now, to urge President Buhari not to approve any study leave or any kind of leave for any critical officer for the takeoff of the incoming administration of Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu. One such person who has been speculated in the media to have applied for a study leave is the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. If the license has been approved, as reported in the media, the president must cancel it in the interest of peaceful transfer of power, accountability and good governance. CBN Governor Emefiele oversaw the management of the country’s financial and monetary systems. He is the one who initiated and implemented the recent disastrous Naira exchange policy, Naira confiscation program, which put Nigerians in untold trouble and trauma and set back our economy.
Two of my brother governors and I took the Federal Government to court for this ill-advised policy and fought resolutely until we got respite for our people at Emefiele and company.
This same Emefiele now wants to continue on study leave with about 10 months left in his term, apparently in an attempt to evade accounts. This is unacceptable. President Buhari should not tolerate this. Emefiele must remain at his job to give a full account of everything that happened under him to the incoming administration. He must answer all the questions that the new regime may have for him, especially with a few months left in his mandate.
I also want to take this opportunity to call on President Buhari to also not approve foreign postings or grant foreign travel for any official at any level in the outgoing government who may be critical or strategic to the smooth takeoff of the incoming government. . I am aware that some outgoing government officials are moving to leave the country surreptitiously at this critical time that they need to answer specific questions, although I do not want to mention their names here.
President Buhari should pay no attention to your unpatriotic and excessive plan. These plans are dangerous and diabolical. They clearly show that these officers have something to hide. This must stop immediately. Any scheme to evade accountability is not in the interest of accountability, transparency and anti-corruption, which President Buhari had championed in government, nor in the interest of a smooth takeoff for the incoming administration. Nor is it in the interest of the country, which the president has always promoted and defended. This is my appeal and why I have chosen to speak as a patriotic and concerned Nigerian Governor.
Thank you.
Bello Matawalle Governor of Zamfara State May 15, 2023