The leadership of the Labour Party (LP) on Saturday faulted the suspension and arrest of the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emeifele, by President Bola Tinubu, describing the action as vindictive and unconstitutional.
LP’s Acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said in a statement in Abuja, that is is obvious that the President lacks powers under Nigeria’s laws to sack the CBN boss.
Declaring the probe of the CBN as ordered by Tinubu as “political and peripheral investigation,” the Labour Party suggested the conduct of “forensic auditing by an independent firm” under which “the real culprits, not just Emefiele, will be unearthed.”
This is just as lawyers under the aegis of United Lawyers for Rule of Law Defence have expressed outrage over the midnight invasion of the Lagos residence of Emefiele and his forceful arrest by men of the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the development as undemocratic.
Calling for his release out of respect for the court and the rule of law, the group of lawyers said in a statement on Saturday by their leader, Hon. Obe Albert, that arresting Emefiele despite a subsisting court order barring his arrest was against the norms of the rule of law.
Spokesperson of the LP, Ifoh said in the statement that the party “is disturbed by the decision of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to suspend/sack the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, albeit unconstitutionally without seeking the permission of the national assembly and we insist that the action was not in good taste and sounds punitive.
“Mr President has the right to ask the CBN governor to resign, same way, Nigerians have the right to ask him or anyone to resign.
https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?gdpr=0&us_privacy=1—&client=ca-pub-7532470883667401&output=html&h=250&slotname=3307723066&adk=2457667863&adf=2198001095&pi=t.ma~as.3307723066&w=300&fwrn=4&lmt=1686416216&rafmt=11&format=300×250&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F2023%2F06%2Femefiele-investigate-inec-not-cbn-labour-party-urges-tinubu%2F&wgl=1&dt=1686416243071&bpp=3&bdt=24168&idt=4&shv=r20230607&mjsv=m202306070101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3Ddcff208cd75ebf8a-22508c20a6db00fd%3AT%3D1675788985%3ART%3D1686416058%3AS%3DALNI_MajDU0VhrxfoCH2DelwHoSGX3Ph0w&gpic=UID%3D00000bd59c3fb4ab%3AT%3D1675788985%3ART%3D1686416058%3AS%3DALNI_MaOZtukthH309h0Ngm0-C1ienL-Kw&prev_fmts=0x0&nras=1&correlator=5217981770868&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=320870052.1675788985&ga_sid=1686416221&ga_hid=1799595772&ga_fc=1&rplot=4&u_tz=60&u_his=3&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_sd=1&adx=417&ady=2274&biw=1349&bih=643&scr_x=0&scr_y=924&eid=44759875%2C44759926%2C44759837%2C31075178%2C44788442&oid=2&pvsid=2708712852195016&tmod=346757019&nvt=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F&fc=1920&brdim=-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C1366%2C0%2C1382%2C744%2C1366%2C643&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CpeoEbr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=6&uci=a!6&btvi=1&fsb=1&xpc=XkuXf5TcBb&p=https%3A//www.vanguardngr.com&dtd=35 “However, he does not have the powers to do so. Having a right is one thing, having the power is another. Many have asked Mr President to resign but lack the powers to compel him to do so,” Femi Gbajabiamila, The (then) minority leader of the House of Representatives, January 13, 2014
“Drawing inspiration from what Femi Gbajabiamila, then Minority Leader, had said years ago (as quoted above) over a similar situation when President Goodluck Jonathan sacked former CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, wherein he questioned the powers of the President in sacking the CBN Governor.
“The opposition leader made it clear that the President lacks powers under the laws of the land to sack the CBN boss. One wonders what has changed between that time and now.
“Femi Gbajabiamila is the current Speaker of the House of Representatives and also holds the enviable portfolio as the Chief of Staff to President Tinubu.
“He had then argued that the law requires the President to seek the approval of two third of the Senate to be able to sack the CBN Governor.
“ But under Gbajabiamila’s watch, Emefiele was fired in a most unconstitutional and vindictive manner.
“It is only in Nigeria that we find people that approbate and reprobate at the same time. People say one thing from one side of their mouth and another from the other side, especially when it favours them politically and otherwise.
“That explains why the country is in shamble: no rule of law, no equity, no justice, and no fair play. People don’t follow standard rules and procedures.
“That is why every aspect of our lives, be it our economic, political and social lives, is challenged.
“Because he was in the opposition at that time, Gbajabiamila saw everything wrong with President Jonathan sacking Sanusi, today, he is on the other side of the divide, and he doesn’t see anything wrong with it.
“This is what Nigerians will face in the APC government, where perceived enemies are dealt with, perceive opposition parties and their members are dealt with, even when they are protected by the law.”
The LP Spokesman further said, “Most Nigerians will not forget in a hurry the famous Naira redesign policy initiated by Emefiele primarily to check vote buying in the last general election.
“A noble policy which a particular candidate then, unfortunately, believed was targeted at him. To him, it was a mortal sin which cannot be forgiven and must be punished. Labour Party believes that Emefiele, a fall guy, is paying for his “sin”.
“The government said the suspension of Emefiele is “sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.”
Ifoh equally said, “It is laughable to read that statement as most Nigerians are already aware of the intention of the government.
“If indeed, there is any government agency that should be investigated with this utmost urgency, should it not be the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC and its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu?
“This is the institution that is responsible for the mockery of our democracy. This is an institution which asked and received N355 billion in tax payers money to conduct, the worst-ever election in the history of Nigeria and in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“This is an election umpire that has shamelessly chosen to be partisan during and after the election, even at the tribunal.
“We urge the APC-led government to carry out a thorough investigation of the CBN and particularly, the last APC government’s interference in the operation of the apex bank.
https://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?gdpr=0&us_privacy=1—&client=ca-pub-7532470883667401&output=html&h=250&slotname=3307723066&adk=2457667863&adf=3340457531&pi=t.ma~as.3307723066&w=300&fwrn=4&lmt=1686416216&rafmt=11&format=300×250&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F2023%2F06%2Femefiele-investigate-inec-not-cbn-labour-party-urges-tinubu%2F&wgl=1&dt=1686416249532&bpp=7&bdt=30628&idt=7&shv=r20230607&mjsv=m202306070101&ptt=9&saldr=aa&abxe=1&cookie=ID%3Ddcff208cd75ebf8a-22508c20a6db00fd%3AT%3D1675788985%3ART%3D1686416058%3AS%3DALNI_MajDU0VhrxfoCH2DelwHoSGX3Ph0w&gpic=UID%3D00000bd59c3fb4ab%3AT%3D1675788985%3ART%3D1686416058%3AS%3DALNI_MaOZtukthH309h0Ngm0-C1ienL-Kw&prev_fmts=0x0%2C300x250&nras=1&correlator=5217981770868&frm=20&pv=1&ga_vid=320870052.1675788985&ga_sid=1686416221&ga_hid=1799595772&ga_fc=1&rplot=4&u_tz=60&u_his=2&u_h=768&u_w=1366&u_ah=728&u_aw=1366&u_cd=24&u_sd=1&adx=417&ady=5080&biw=1349&bih=643&scr_x=0&scr_y=2519&eid=44759875%2C44759926%2C44759837%2C31075178%2C44788442&oid=2&psts=ABHeCvjX6CnRvtWUarJgAcAqIIp-0FUl04fUcN5lmI-j8Mwb7awd7iFplqbM8unFFv7lrBdAMTbKS5flhMXBjkeV-jW2455u&pvsid=2708712852195016&tmod=346757019&nvt=1&ref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.vanguardngr.com%2F&fc=1920&brdim=-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C-8%2C1366%2C0%2C1382%2C744%2C1366%2C643&vis=1&rsz=%7C%7CpeoEbr%7C&abl=CS&pfx=0&fu=128&bc=31&ifi=7&uci=a!7&btvi=2&fsb=1&xpc=B3Nx8XqzQA&p=https%3A//www.vanguardngr.com&dtd=1262 “Nigerians will not tolerate political and peripheral investigation. We suggest a forensic auditing by an independent firm and by so doing, maybe the real culprits, not just Emefiele will be unearthed.”
According to a statement by the group of lawyers: “A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, in December 2022, barred the Department of State Services and the Inspector General of Police from arresting and detaining the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over allegations of terrorism and sundry offences against him.
“Also restrained by the court order are the Attorney General of the Federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria, who were listed as the first, second and fifth defendants.
“Justice MA Hassan made the order while delivering judgment in a suit marked GAR/CV/41/2022, filed by the Incorporated Trustees of the Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership.
“In the suit filed on December 19, 2022, the applicant, among other reliefs, prayed the court for a declaration that the continuous harassments, intimidation, threats, restriction of free movement, abuse of the right of office, surreptitious moves to arrest, and humiliation of Emefiele, by the respondents are vindictive, unwarranted and abrasive.
“We urge President Bola Tinubu to immediately call the DSS to order based on this subsisting court judgement.
“We believe strongly that Dr Emefiele’s arrest has put a question mark on the rule of law mantra of the President.
“It is too early in the day for this administration to begin to disobey court orders. We, therefore, call for Emefiele’s immediate release.”