The Labour Party has criticized President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s decision to suspend the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. The party has urged Tinubu to focus on investigating the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) instead.
In a statement issued by Obiora Ifoh, the National Publicity Secretary of the Labour Party, the opposition party expressed concern over Tinubu’s suspension of Emefiele without consulting the National Assembly.
The Labour Party believes that Emefiele is being targeted for his disagreement with Tinubu regarding the implementation of the Naira Redesign Policy, which was introduced to combat vote-buying in the last general election. The party sees this as a noble policy that was unfortunately misinterpreted by a specific candidate who considered it a personal attack. The Labour Party suggests that Emefiele is now being punished for this perceived transgression.
The party further argues that if there is any government agency that deserves urgent investigation, it is the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu. The Labour Party considers INEC responsible for undermining the integrity of the nation’s democracy.
The statement reads, “The government stated that Emefiele’s suspension is a result of the ongoing investigation into his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy. However, if there is any government agency that should be investigated urgently, shouldn’t it be the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu? This is the institution responsible for the mockery of our democracy.”
It should be noted that the government, under Tinubu’s leadership, suspended Emefiele on Friday, and subsequently, the Department of State Security Service (DSS) arrested him.