Northern groups want sack, arrest of Emefiele as New Year gift

Northern groups under the aegis of Amalgamated Arewa Youth Groups (AAYG), have said that the best New Year gift expected by Nigerians from President Muhammadu Buhari would be to sack and arrest the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Godwin Emefiele.

The groups, which listed some of the alleged crimes that warrant the sack and arrest of Emefiele, called on the Department of State Services (DSS) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) to seriously monitor the apex bank boss.

The groups said it is a coalition of 225 socio-cultural and socio-economic groups, with a special interest in advancing the interest of the North in the Nigeria union and ensuring that good governance is entrenched in the nation as a whole.

AAYG, in a press statement by its Publicity Secretary, Comrade Victor Duniya, called on “President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently sack or at least cause the suspension of the duo of Prof. Benedict Oramah and Godwin Emefiele over their roles and interests in the acquisition of Union Bank by Titan Bank.”

Listing out some allegations against Emefiele, the groups said, “There has been a series of allegations of corruption against Mr Godwin Emefiele and members of his team. As the incumbent governor of our apex bank, he has been using his privileged position to cover up those charges. It’s important to beam our transparency light into some of these allegations for the benefit of Nigerians who may not be aware of them, notable of them include.”

The group added that “Honourable Muhammadu Kazaure, the Secretary of the Presidential Committee on Reconciliation and Recovery of Stamp Duties Revenue recently revealed that N89 trillion from stamp duties has been misappropriated by the Central Bank of Nigeria and some Commercial Banks, an allegation that we believe needs unfettered investigation. Which only be achieved when the CBN Governor steps aside.

“The Department of State Security (DSS) recently approached the Federal High Court through an ex parte motion to seek an order mandating it to detain and interrogate Mr Godwin Emefiele, over the link to the financing of terrorism and corruption of national security dimension, this has made him abandon his job, and currently seeking refuge in faraway the United State of America, under the guise of medical issues. With the world becoming a global village, he needs to know that he can run, but can’t hide.

“Also, in an audio conversation obtained exclusively by Sahara Reporters and confirmed by the Central Bank of Nigeria, featuring the governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele, deputy governor, Edward Lametek Adamu, Director of Finance, Dayo M. Arowosegbe and special adviser to the CBN governor, Emmanuel Ukeje. They were overheard looking for ways to cover up the missing 500bn which went awry in a failed Dubai Investment.”

The groups further noted that “the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele; the President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah; among others are currently under investigation over the $300million the pan-African multilateral financial institution gave to Titan Trust Bank Limited to acquire 93.4% stake in the Union Bank of Nigeria Plc.

“Isn’t it magical that Titan Trust Bank, a small bank with only two bank branches in Lagos swallowed up Union Bank, a 104-year-old bank, in a transaction valued in the region of over One billion US dollars? The bank is currently estimated to be worth N3 trillion Naira. Its largest share is linked to Emefiele.

“Nigerians will recall that a few days back, President Muhammadu Buhari fired the Managing Director of the Nigerian Incentive-based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Aliyu Abdulhameed, over fraud allegations. It is on record that the CBN Governor is the Chairman of the microfinance bank. It is either the fraud was committed with his consent or he is grossly incompetent not to have detected the level of fraud that took place in the bank.

“It is in the public domain, that officials of the EFCC grilled top directors of the Central Bank over their roles in the N2 billion loan given to the National President of the National Cotton Association of Nigeria (NACOTAN), Anime Achimugu. Since the loan issue was not discussed in the CBN board meeting, it is considered to be illegal. The CBN has questions to answer here.”

Following these allegations, the groups “call on the Department of State Security Service and the Federal government to remain focused and professional in their resolve to ensure that he and other accomplished have their day in court and possibly jail.

“Call on anti-graft agencies to put their searchlight on Titan Bank and ensure the source of every kobo that was used in acquiring the bank is known. We have every reason to believe that the 3 trillion capitalisation of the bank might have its source from the Stamp Duty that is now the subject of controversy between the apex bank and Rep. Kazaure

“Similarly, the processes that led to the bail and the sale of now defunct Skye bank, must be revisited so that the monies of Nigerian taxpayers are returned to them, while those involved are prosecuted.

“We call on Nigeria Immigration Service to ensure that the duo of Dr. Godwin Emefiele, CBN Governor, and the President of African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), Prof. Benedict Oramah are restricted from travelling out of the country, to ensure that they don’t escape the jaw of laws until the conclusion of the investigation.”