Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana has called for the removal of current Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
Speaking at a conference in Ekiti State, Falana called on President Muhammadu Buhari to remove Emefiele. He explained that failure to remove Emefiele from office could erode and compromise the credibility of the 2023 general elections.
The CBN governor has initially declared his intention to contest in the upcoming Presidential elections on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). A decision that was met with backlash from different corners of the country. However, he rescinded the decision on Wednesday.
Falana, a guest speaker at the conference claimed that for free, fair and credible 2023 general elections, INEC should refrain from keeping sensitive election materials at the CBN with Dr Emefiele sitting in the office as its governor.
READ MORE: Court Grants Godwin Emefiele Exactly What He Wants
During elections, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) keep election material like ballot boxes and others at a vault in the Central Bank.
“INEC is trying; it has deployed technology to get rid of rigging, but we can no longer keep sensitive election materials in the vault of the CBN.” Falana said.
“This is because the governor of the CBN is a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress. It has never happened anywhere in the world; this is very dangerous. The CBN governor’s power is enormous under the CBN Act, so he can’t be a politician.”
“We can’t look for an alternative place to keep our electoral materials; it is the CBN governor that must be removed and whether President Buhari likes it or not, Emefiele must go.”
“Some Civil Society Organisations have filed a motion against him and we will pursue it to a logical conclusion,’’ the activist added.
Furthermore, he suggested the establishment of electoral offences tribunals across the country. The aim of the tribunal would be to prosecute offenders and sanitise the system, also to stem election manipulation and bloodshed.
