Tell Buhari not to let Emefiele leave Nigeria: Matawalle

Bello Matawalle, the governor of Zamfara State, has urged the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), to forbid the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, from traveling abroad.

Following rumors that the president had granted the CBN governor’s request to go on study leave, this occurred.

In a statement released on Monday, Matawalle said that Buhari had demonstrated good faith by indicating that he was prepared to leave his position.

He urged the president, however, to reject any attempt by anyone attempting to undermine the good work he has done.
“President Buhari and his wife Aisha Buhari have shown good faith and shown they want a seamless orderly, peaceful transfer of power to the incoming administration,” Matawalle said.

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“They are eager to make sure the new regime gets off to a smooth start, quickly, and without any obstacles that would be against our nation’s best interests. I applaud President Buhari and his wife for acting in a statesmanlike manner because this is the right thing to do.

But other government employees have behaved in a different way. They act as though they want to make things difficult for the incoming government. President Buhari shouldn’t permit this. Any attempt to undermine the good work he has done should be met with a frown from him.

“I want to firmly advise President Buhari to refuse any study leave or other type of leave for any officer who will be essential to the launch of Aswaj Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s incoming administration.

“The President should cancel the leave if it has been approved, as reported in the media, in the interest of a peaceful transfer of power, accountability, and good governance.”

According to the governor of Zamfara, the CBN governor must be forced to provide the incoming administration with a report on his tenure.

“Governor Emefiele of the CBN presided over the administration of the nation’s financial and monetary systems. The recent disastrous naira swap policy, also known as the naira confiscation program, which caused untold suffering and trauma for Nigerians and regressed our economy, was initiated and carried out by him, he claimed.

We fought tenaciously until we won a reprieve for our people from Emefiele and company. Two of my brother governors and I sued the Federal Government over this foolish policy.

When he still has about 10 months left in his employment, the same Emefiele wants to go on study leave, ostensibly in an effort to avoid having to render accounts. This can’t happen.

The President Buhari should not support this. Emefiele must continue working so that he can provide the incoming administration with full accounts of everything that happened while he was in charge. He must respond to any inquiries the new administration may have, especially given the fact that he still has a few months left in office.

Matawalle further pleaded with the president to refuse any request from any officer of the departing government who wished to leave the country.

He continued, “I’m aware that some members of the departing government are preparing to sneak out of the country at this crucial time when they are needed to provide answers, though I would not want to mention their names here.

“President Buhari should disregard their extravagant and unpatriotic scheme. These strategies are sinister and dangerous.

They unequivocally demonstrate that these officers are hiding something. This needs to stop immediately. Any scheme to avoid rendering accounts serves no one’s interests in terms of accountability, transparency, or fighting corruption, he continued.