Senior Pastor of the Citadel Global Community Church, Tunde Bakare, has asked the Federal Government to desist from the attempts to make the suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, a scapegoat for the nation’s monetary policy issues.
Though the senior pastor acknowledged that Emefiele may have made some mistakes, he stressed that he likely did not act without presidential authorization.
Bakare made this known during the State of the Nation address on Sunday, August 13, 2023, where he shared his thoughts on the current state of affairs in Nigeria.
He said “Mr Godwin Emefiele may have made the wrong judgement calls in the management of Nigeria’s monetary policy, but he must not be made a scapegoat.
“In the provisions of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Act 2007, there is every possibility that the erstwhile central bank governor did not act without presidential authorization.
“If Emefiele is found liable for any crime, by all means, he should be prosecuted. However, considering the dynamics of the pre-election environment and the then-candidate Bola Tinubu’s public allegation that the naira redesign policy was targeted at him, the optics of the president targeting Emefiele for prosecution after winning the election and being sworn in as the president could be interpreted as a form of vendetta far beneath such a distinguished office,” Bakare said.
Following Emefiele suspension as CBN governor on June 9, 2023, he was arrested by the DSS on June 10. Despite several court rulings demanding his release, Emefiele has remained in the custody of the DSS.
Bakare strongly criticized the DSS, saying that their actions have raised concerns over professionalism and adherence to the rule of law.
“Considering the claims of the DSS that its actions were in reaction to order from above, handling of Emefiele case has sent a signal to the world that the current president’s disposition to the war against corruption is primarily motivated by the clampdown on the perceived political adversaries, while various other enemies of Nigeria remain untouched,” he added.