To Be Or Not To Be: Suspense As Emefiele Takes Presidential Bid To Court, Awaits Verdict
- Godwin Emefiele has told the Federal High Court in Abuja to determine whether he is wrong not to resign from his office before contesting elections
- The CBN governor's legal representative at the court on Monday, May 9, was Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN)
- Respondents mentioned in the suit are Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami and INEC
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Abuja - It is no more rumour - Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is interested in taking over President Muhammadu Buhari's seat in 2023.
In fact, Emefiele in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja through Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), is praying for a declaration that he is not bound to resign to participate in a primary election, The Nation reports.
Source: Twitter
As the sole plaintiff in the suit, the CBN governor mentioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami as respondents.
Part of his prayer to the court is to determine whether Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 is not inconsistent with Section 137 (1)(G) of the 1999 Constitution.
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Part of the basis for 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 percent) owned by the Nigerian Federal Government, and therefore constitutes a government agency with the meaning and intendment of Section 318 of 1999 Constitution.”
Why APC was not joined as a respondent
Speaking with Leadership before the hearing of the case on Monday, Ozekhome was quoted to have said:
”We have to file a motion exparte, which we will move before the judge this morning. The parties in the motion are the AGF and INEC chairman.
”We did not join the APC because my client has not told me he is a member of any political party yet.”
CBN governor Godwin Emefiele must resign immediately, Akeredolu declares
Recall that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo had asked Emefiele to resign his position if he wanted to contest the presidency.
Akeredolu, in a statement he personally signed on Friday, May 6, said Emefiele’s purported action, “if unchecked timeously portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country.”
According to him, Emefiele cannot participate actively in partisan politics and also hold the position of CBN governor.
Source: Legit.ng
