Group Condemns Propaganda against Emefiele
Thexs. The Agbor Stakeholders Forum (ASF) has decried the continuous propaganda against a former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele. In a press statement made available to the media by Kanene Kachikwu for ASF yesterday the group stated: “We have watched with alarm, the seeming intention of the federal government under the charge of President Bola Tinubu, to hunt down and destroy our son, Mr. Godwin Emefiele by any means possible.
“Recall that we, his kinfolks and stakeholders in his Agbor homestead have had cause to cry out last year after he was detained for over six months without bail.
“Though he was finally granted bail, we are moved to cry out once more in view of the relentless propaganda and media assault the federal government has unleashed on Mr Emefiele in the last couple of weeks.
“We are worried that since the beginning of this administration, one man has been subjected to the investigation of the Department of State Service (DSS), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and a Special Financial Investigator, Mr. Jim Obazee, yet no charges against him has been able to stand in the face of the court.
“As we chronicled in our first appeal, our brother has been charged with over half a dozen offences and all of them have failed in different courts.”
Furthermore, it stated: “The DSS first accused him of financing terrorism. After a thorough search of all his residences, all they got was a little gun, more like a toy gun.
“Then the EFCC took over and combed through all his financial records. They went to press that N7.1 trillion was missing. This was to later turn to N1.2 billion official vehicles procurement irregularity allegedly perpetrated by Emefiele and a female colleague. This too didn’t stand in the court of law.
“Most recently, the EFCC claimed it is probing forex transactions of the CBN spanning the last nine years (2014 - 2023).”
The group added, “Why is the EFCC probe different from Special Investigator, Obazee probe.
Finally, Obazee told the world in its leaked report that Emefiele had interests in three bank necessitating the takeover of the banks. But when the bank’s management was changed a few days ago, different reasons were adduced.”
The forum further went on to state that according to the CBN, the infractions of the three banks (Union, Keystone and Polaris banks) ranged from, “regulatory noncompliance, corporate governance failure, disregarding the conditions under which their licences were granted, and involvement in activities that pose a threat to financial stability, among others.”
The statement added, “in all of this, the CBN didn’t give specific details of what makes up infringement and noncompliance.
“Our point and also our grouse is that these probes, investigations and reports therefrom are all politically motivated attempts to ‘destroy’ our brother for his alleged role in former President Buhari’s naira redesign policy.”