How Emefiele attempted to sabotage 2023 polls, by Akpabio
Senate President Godswill Akpabio says the redesigned Naira notes introduced by former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, shortly before the 2023 general elections, was aimed at disrupting the conduct of the polls.
Emefiele had in October 2022 announced the re-design of N200, N500 and N1,000 naira notes, declaring that the old naira notes would remain legal tender until January 31, 2023.
This required the swapping of the old naira notes with the re-designed currencies before the expiration of the deadline.
Emefile had claimed that the policy was meant to, among others, migrate the country from a cash-based to cashless economy. The former CBN governor revealed that as at September 2022, N2.73 trillion naira of the N3.23 trillion naira in circulation was outside of the banking system.
But the currency redesign policy ended in unintended consequences and hardship for citizens.
Akpabio, who was speaking on the floor of the Senate on Tuesday during the screening of Olayemi Cardoso, nominee for the position of CBN governor and four deputy governor nominees for the apex bank, asked Cardoso if he would also dabble in politics like his predecessor.
Although Akpabio refrained from mentioning Emefiele’s name, it was clear he was referring to him.
The Senate President said, “CBN Governor, will you uphold the integrity, steadfastness to resist when politicians come to you to join the presidential race and display your posters even as a sitting CBN Governor in political conventions?
“Will you rush to display your profile electronically at political conventions while sitting as a governor because politicians have told you that you have enough money in CBN to do it?
“Don’t forget the fact that the money in the Central Bank isn’t for you. Will you have the courage to resist the temptation to listen to politicians and throw your hat into the ring and go back to your office and sit as CBN governor?
“Will you rush to sabotage the election in Nigeria by going for new notes, two days to the election when no country in the world changes new notes within one year, you do your own in 14 days or 11 to see how you can sabotage the election in Nigeria?”
CBN can’t be hijacked under my watch – Cardoso
The new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr Yemi Cardoso, on Tuesday, assured Nigerians that the apex bank will not be hijacked under his watch.
Cardoso, who spoke during his screening by the upper chamber of the National Assembly, said he and his deputies would not allow politicians to distract them while performing their obligations for the country.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio had asked Cardoso whether he would be controlled, influenced and hijacked by politicians.
Cardoso and four others nominated by President Bola Tinubu to occupy principal offices of the apex bank appeared before the Red Chamber on Tuesday.
Responding to Akpabio’s question before his confirmation, Cardoso, said, “It is important that we, who are considered for this position today, understand that this is a position of trust.
“With that comes a huge responsibility to meet up with that trust. I know that a lot of time and effort has gone into choosing the people who are standing here for nomination today.
“As far as I am concerned, under my leadership, we will not be hijacked by anybody. The idea is to ensure that we do what is right, when it is right, and how it is right. We’ve seen what the effect of not doing right has been, and we do not intend for that to be repeated.”
Another Tinubu’s Chicago varsity classmate testifies in US court
The ongoing legal tussle between President Bola Tinubu and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar over his Chicago State University academic records has taken a new twist after a self-acclaimed classmate of the former Lagos Governor, Olajide Adeniji, swore to an oath that he knew him.
Adeniji testified in a United States district court that he knows and contested against Tinubu as President of Accounting Society Club at the Department of Business Admin/Accounting in the same alma mater.
The development is coming two weeks after a public affairs analyst, Durojaiye Ogunsanya, also claimed to be a coursemate to the Nigerian president.
Ogunsanya, who featured on TVC’s popular breakfast show ‘This Morning,’ testified that they both graduated from the Department of Accounting and Business Administration in 1979 at the same university.
In the oath taken on September 23 at the Northern District of Illinois Court in Chicago, Adeniji swore to an affidavit that he was familiar with the same Tinubu who is the current president of Nigeria.
His affidavit read, “I, Olajide Adeniji, after having been first duly sworn upon oath, do hereby state that I am over 21 years of age, that I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein, and could competently testify thereto if called upon to do so: I attended Chicago State University, Chicago, Illinois from 1977 to 1979 when I graduated with a degree in Business Administration/Accounting in 1979.
“I am familiar with Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who is now the President of Nigeria. I was a student at Chicago State University from 1977 to 1979 and Bola Tinubu and I were in the same course of study.
“I also ran in a closely-contested race against and Bola Tinubu for the Leadership of Accounting Society Club of the Department of Business Administration/Accounting. I also recognize and know the person who I attended Chicago State University with, Bola A. Tinubu, is the same person who is now the President of Nigeria. Pursuant to 28 U.S.C 1746, I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct”
Atiku had secured an application for CSU to make the president’s academic records available to his legal team.
Acting on the application, a magistrate, Jeffrey Gilbert, had ordered Tinubu’s alma mater to provide all relevant and non-privileged documents to the applicant within two days.
Atiku is currently challenging the victory of the former Lagos State governor at the 2023 presidential poll and his recent affirmation by an election petition court in Nigeria.
The documents sought by the PDP candidate, through his counsel, Angela Liu, include the record of admission and acceptance at the university, dates of attendance including degrees, awards and honours attained by the former governor of Lagos State at the university, among others.
But Tinubu, on Monday, pleaded with the US district Judge, Nancy Maldonado, to order Chicago State University to protect his privileged information such as admission records, transcripts and gender and release only his certificate to the legal team of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
The motion to preclude other documents was filed by the president’s lawyer, Christopher Carmichael, who stressed that ‘the most critical fact has already been clearly and unequivocally established’ by his alma mater.’
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