News Editor
…Says it is embarrassing for serving cabinet members to be campaigning while he is still president
President Buhari has mandated both the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate the activities of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele and almost half of his serving ministers and those behind the flooding of their presidential posters all over the country.
According to an impeccable source from one of the security agencies, the President is embarrassed to hear that the serving CBN governor and some of his ministers are nursing presidential ambitions when his own tenure is yet to expire.
He lamented that this act alone has dented his anti corruption posture which he was known for all over the world.
According to the security source, the president livid with anger told the heads of DSS and the EFCC to get to work at unraveling who these people linked to the campaign posters are in other to bring them to book.
Moreover, the flooding of their posters is contrary to the recently signed Electoral ammendment bill which mandates politicsl appointees to resign their positions before contesting any elective political position or participating in political party primary.
Following the approval of the bill, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) updated the schedule of activities for the general election, giving political parties between April 4 and June 3, 2022 to conduct primaries.
This means that political appointees seeking election must resign before June 3 when INEC expects that all issues on party primaries must have been resolved.
Rumors that political appointees like Emefiele, Rotimi Amaechi, minister of transportation; Chris Ngige, minister of labour; Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta affairs; Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources; Emeka Nwajiuba, minister of state for education, are all nursing presidential ambitions have been rife these past few weeks.
Only the minister of justice, Abubakar Malami is rumored to be interested in becoming the governor of Kebbi State.
And what is more, different pressure groups have emerged, openly endorsing their ambition.
While Nwajiuba is being projected by the Project Nigeria Group (PNG) for presidency, Akpabio has reportedly received the backing of the Godswill Akpabio Uncommon Transformational Support Organisation (GAUTSO).
Also, while the Southern Mandate Group and Chibuike Amaechi Crusaders 2023 want the transportation minister to succeed Buhari, Emefiele is reported to have the support of members of the Igbo ethnic group who believe his tenure as the nation’s central bank governor qualifies him to be Nigeria’s next president.
Similarly, this newspaper reliably gathered that the spokesperson of one of the ministers informed the Oyo state delegates in the last Congress that took place in Abuja, that his principal will contest the 2023 Presidential Election.
What has further lent credence to these rumors is their campaign posters that has flooded the nooks and crannies of the country in recent times.
Specifically, while Emefiele and Amaechi have both denied nursing any presidential ambition, the actions of their ‘foot soldiers’ says otherwise.
Only yesterday, Emefiele, reportedly took delivery of his campaign vehicles. Several cars were branded with his pictures, adorning traditional outfits of the three major ethnic groups in Nigeria.
Earlier on March 26, campaign posters publicising him as the presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress flooded Eagle Square, during the party’s national convention in Abuja.
The oppositipn Peoples Democratic Party has repeatedly called for his resignation, affirming that his partisan affiliation and entanglement with the APC violated section 9 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act which provides that “the governor and the deputy governors shall devote the whole of their time to the service of the bank and while holding office, shall not engage in any full or part-time employment or vocation, whether remunerated or not…”
The party also accused Emefiele of being the “cash cow” to the Muhammadu Buhari.
Similarly, an 86 page brochur prepared to sell the candidacy of Amaechi to Nigerians was made public yesterday.
The brochure titled ‘Qualified to Serve’, has on its cover, a quote from Amaechi: ‘I believe that the destiny of Nigeria can only be best actualized in the context of one indivisible and united nation. What is required is for us to continue to work towards a nation in which doors of opportunity are open to all our citizens irrespective of ethnicity, creed, class or circumstance.”
On the back page of the brochure is another quote from the minister: “We must give meaning to democracy so that every Nigerian can find a place and a voice in a land of free men and women. We must deploy our diversity to increase our strength. We must make our streets and highways, and now forests and farmlands, safe again for all Nigerians to fulfill their individual dreams of a good life so that , together, we can actualize the manifest destiny of this blessed land.”
Also in the brochure are photographs of the minister in different Nigerian attires, a picture of him and his wife, photographs with President Buhari on various occasions, photos with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, General Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, and photos of the minister with Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, who is also reported to be aspiring to succeed Buhari.
The whole of Page Three of the brochure has the name of the minister boldly printed and translated into English as follows: Chibuike – God is Strength; Rotimi – Stand by Me; and Amaechi – Who Knows Tomorrow.
On the table of contents of the brochure are 14 sections which include Making the Critical Choice; Reasons Why: The competitive advantages of Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi; First Among Equals; Broad and Deep Experience in Governance; Geopolitical Considerations; Nationalist Outlook; Political Prowess; Personality and Leadership Style; Track Record of Performance; Highlights of Achievements: Rivers State Governor (2007-2015); Highlights of Achievements: Ministry of Transportation (2015 – Date); and Hallmark of Amaechi’s Leadership.
Courage, stamina, and resilience were listed as part of Amaechi’s competitive advantages.
The brochure also has infographics of his achievements as Rivers governor and as transport minister.
Surely, going by these two evidences, it will be difficult for anyone to believe that Amaechi and Emefiele are ignorant as they claim, of these devices being used to project their presidential ambition.
