• Presidency denies knowledge of Buhari’s approval of leave
The financial sector was yesterday gripped by confusion following
a social media report that
President Muhammadu Buhari had granted Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor,
Godwin Emefiele study leave.
Sahara Reporters had claimed in a report that the ‘study
leave’ was to provide an opportunity for
Emefiele to flee the country before the May 29 assumption of office by
President-elect Bola Tinubu.
But the Presidency and CBN sources denied any study leave approval.
Responding to queries on the topic, Senior Special Assistant
to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, in a short message
said: “If the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele,
has been granted study leave, supposedly, by President Muhammadu Buhari, this
is unknown to us.
“It is also unknown to the President’s Secretariat, headed by
the Chief of Staff.”
A CBN source that was also contacted on the matter issued a
similar denial.
However,another Presidency source informed The Nation that there was an application from
Mr. Emefiele seeking approval for study leave overseas.
But the source was unsure if the President gave approval.
“I heard the CBN Governor applied to the President for study
leave, but I don’t know if the President has granted the application,” the
source said.
People familiar with
the CBN Governor’s work environment told The Nation that he had confided in some of his aides that he
intends to serve out his second term as the apex bank’s chief.
Emefiele was in Lagos on Tuesday for the third biannual
non-oil export summit in Lagos with the
theme: “RT200: Challenges and Prospects to Success” during which he tipped the
non-oil sector as critical for Nigeria’s economic growth.
He said that for Nigeria, developing the non-oil export sector
is absolutely an imperative, given that this holds vast potential for
generating a significant amount of foreign exchange earnings.
He said the summit provided a platform to deliberate on how to
accelerate the value and volume of Nigeria’s non-oil exports and ensure that
proceeds therefrom are utilised most optimally for the benefit of our economy.
He said that in some countries, the period of repatriation
ranges from less than six months from exportation of the product and could
result in prosecution if proceeds are not repatriated on time.
Emefiele said the CBN in collaboration with the Bankers’
Committee identified the RT200 programme and export promotion in general as a
critical tool for attaining sustainable and stable external balance and
safeguarding the value of our local currency.
He explained that any
nation that consumes more than it
produces or imports more than it
exports will fail as there will be no
meaningful development.
Emefiele was appointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan
in 2014 and appointed for a second term
by Buhari in 2019.
The current deal runs till June 2024.
Sahara Reporters said
the Department of State Services which attempted to arrest and detain Emefiele
in the past over certain allegations against him “ kicked against the study
leave reportedly granted to Emefiele as it means he will flee the country
before May 29 when another government comes in.”
0 Comments