Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele has filed a suit at the Federal High Court in Abuja praying for a declaration that he is not bound to resign to participate in a primary election to select a presidential candidate.
Mr Emefiele’s position on the long-standing rumour of his presidential bid followed a statement he made on Saturday that he had not decided if he would seek the ticket of a political party for the position.
The CBN governor also said on Saturday that he did not need any group to buy a nomination and expression of interest forms, adding that he would do that himself from his savings of 35 years of active work if he wanted to run for president.
In a dramatic turn of events, the head of the CBN, through his lawyer Mike Ozekhome (SAN), confirmed to the court that he aspires to be Nigeria’s president.
Part of the grounds of the application reads: “That the plaintiff has aspiration to seek election to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and participate as a candidate in the upcoming 2023 elections.
“That section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 provides that: ‘No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election’.
“That the plaintiff verily believes that he is not affected by these provisions, as he is not a political appointee as envisaged by the above provisions of section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“That the Central Bank of Nigeria is entirely (100 per cent) owned by the Nigerian Federal Government, and therefore constitutes a government agency with the meaning and intendment of Section 318 of 1999 Constitution.”
Emefiele is the sole plaintiff in the suit, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the attorney-general of the federation as respondents.
