CBN Governor Godwin Emephile has reportedly been unable to resume official duties after exhausting his approved vacation period, The People’s Gazette confirms.
This is when the Supreme Bank Governor concluded his plans to seek asylum in the UK over growing threats to his status and personal safety from the National Security Agency.
However, The Gazette does not know when he will file his asylum application, but he is ready.
Mr. Emefil received presidential approval in December last year to take a leave of absence until January 9.
However, sources told The Gazette that the head of the top bank, who was charged to resume work today, had not turned up as of noon Monday and he was not on his way back to the country.
The tension over his much-needed return rests on the uncertainty that has engulfed the economy, especially the capital markets.
Sources say the bank’s president is still bouncing back and forth between the UK and the US.
Emefiere, forced to remain abroad due to a conspiracy to implicate him as a terrorist financier, has been weighing his options there.
The CBN governor left Nigeria between Dec. 9 and 10 and met with President Muhammadu Buhari during a high-profile trip to Washington that ended Dec. 17, according to people familiar with his schedule. appeared in.
Sources said Emefierre would be happy to return to Nigeria if the president could offer protection from state rogues in the SSS.
Allegations have surfaced that the secret police, with the support of Mr. Buhari and other government officials, staged an attack on the CBN governor.
However, in a December 13, 2022 ruling, Federal High Court Judge John Tsoho refused to approve the arrest warrant sought by the SSS to detain Emefiere.
Tsoho said the secret police had failed to substantiate the allegations against Emefiere and hid his identity to trick the court into admitting the false allegations.
The Official Gazette found that the president had not yet taken a decisive position on the stalemate.
Emefierre’s decision to redesign the Naira and limit cash withdrawals, possibly intended to curb buying votes in the 2023 elections, will gain powerful political opponents and lead the regime to power. It may have landed him in a war with other Loyalists.
Victor Nduklova, a business analyst at Afro-Invest, said in an interview with The Gazette about the impact of Emefierre’s absence on the country’s economy, the country creates unnecessary controversy during a time when the economy is not doing well. He said he could not afford it.
Ndukwoba said Apex Bank’s structure allows operations to continue during long periods of absence, but his long absence is not good for the country’s economy.
“It doesn’t work for an economy that is already grappling with all sorts of issues, including fiscal revenue challenges. There have been problems, and central banks have clearly played a key role in funding government activity.
“Central bank governors will continue to play an important role in the economy, monetary policy, exchange rate controls, etc. So a prolonged absence will obviously have a negative impact,” he said.
“But again, I would like to believe that the central bank has appropriate structures to allow key officials within its institutions to take extended leave. The central bank governor chairs that committee. But there is the Board of Governors, the MPC itself, but I believe there is a governance framework that allows the institution and its activities to continue even in his absence,” he added.
For his part, lawyer Festus Oguns argued that it was impossible for top bank bosses to effectively and efficiently carry out their official duties while out of the country.
The SSS’s move to arrest Emefiele was established as illegal, and lawyers said they were distracted when CBN officials expressed interest in running for president.
“Although the SSS’s actions to arrest him are not supported by law, I believe his personal hardship was caused by his unjust and unnecessary political involvement during his tenure. We must not sacrifice publicity,” Oguns said.
