Why we want Emefiele to run, by group

A group, Green Alliance, has said that Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele will reinvigorate the economy if elected as president.

The group claimed the banker has the backing of Corporate Nigeria and many politicians.

Its leader, Wale Fapounda, said Emefiele is being projected as a bridge, being from Igbo speaking part of Delta State, adding that Igbo in the Southeast and the people of the South-South would identify with him.

He noted that the CBN governor was born in Lagos where he also had his primary and secondary education.

Fapounda said: “It was remarkable that even if he were appointed by a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP administration, that the succeeding All Progressives Congress, APC government not only found him fit enough but also went on to make him the first CBN governor in the Fourth Republic to win a second term.”

He recalled Emefiele’s successes at Zenith Bank, noting that the bank achieved a hundred billion naira after tax profit under his management in 2012.

Fapounda said: “Since he was appointed the governor of the CBN he has spent his energy in building a resilient financial system that can serve the growth and development needs of the Nigerian economy.

“A typical example of this was seen during his first term, he supervised an interventionist currency policy at the behest of the presidency, propping up the Nigerian Naira by pumping billions of dollars into the foreign exchange market. He also introduced a multiple exchange rate regime to try to mask pressure on the Naira and avoid a series of devaluations.”

He dismissed criticism from certain quarters that Emefiele had deviated from the core role of sustaining monetary policy saying that the development functions of the CBN as espoused by the CBN Governor were well covered by the new CBN Act of 2007.

“He has not declared, we are saying we want a round peg in a round hole. We have looked at all the aspirants, those who have declared and who are about to declare that the facts speak for itself,” he stressed.

Fapouhnda said Emefiele would respond to the call to enter the 2023 contest, given his love for Nigeria and if not, he would be compelled to do so.

He also dismissed insinuations that Emefiele lacks a political structure, pointing out that he would be relying on God to make him president in 2023.

While noting that Emefiele is a completely detrabilised man, he added: “His achievements are numerous in the CBN. He is a man that has been ordained for this time.”