The rumored plans of the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to stage a surprising run for the Presidency became a national trending topic on Thursday as Nigerians from across the country expressed their dissatisfaction over the move – alongside Mr. Emefiele’s overall tenure as CBN Chief – using a scathing hashtag, #TheEmefieleDisaster.
Users of the platform who joined in the conversation accused the CBN Governor of executing a partisan agenda at the CBN aimed at retaining the support of high-placed members of the ruling party, the APC, who are keen on helping him succeed President Buhari as the country’s next leader in 2023.
They alleged that despite supervising Nigeria’s worst economic and financial performance in decades, including a spiraling foreign exchange crisis, he has remained untouchable due to his willingness to open the country’s vault to this exclusive class within the APC who are backing him for the Presidency.
Others noted how Emefiele has concerned himself with partisan activities unrelated to his official mandate as the CBN Governor, asserting that the deliberate inflation of his roles and duties constitutes evidence of his reign of impunity and abuse of office.
“Emefiele expanded his impunity by making an unannounced courtesy call to the camp of the Nigerian Super Eagles all the way in Cameroon; a visit that has left Nigerians wondering non-stop as to its relevance to his role as the CBN Governor,” one of the tweets read.
Rumors of Godwin Emefiele considering a likely run in 2023 has gathered steam in the past few weeks with multiple inside Villa sources affirming that the banker has emerged as the most preferred candidate of certain APC figures who consider his Presidency the best-case scenario.
The primary consideration, according to the sources, is that it allows them to honor the growing call for a power shift to the Southern region of the country without handing over the reins of the country’s economy which Emefiele has, allegedly, surrendered to them.