Kick Emefiele out, HURIWA urges NASS

The Human Rights Writers Association has called on the National Assembly to use its legislative powers to kick out the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

The group made the call in a statement signed by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, on Sunday.

Onwubiko said the governor had shown signs of irredeemable arrogance and flagrant disregard for constitutional provisions, adding that the National Assembly should not let Emefiele destroy the economy with his draconian and anti-people fiscal and monetary policies.

Citing the recent withdrawal limit policy of the apex bank, which the group described as “obnoxious and senseless”, the group argued that if the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), could be impeached by the legislative arm, Emefiele should not be allowed to continue to grandstand and ride roughshod on the National Assembly.

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“Emefiele’s arrogance and abuse of power have reached an intolerable height. He has destroyed Nigeria with improperly anchored monetary policies, especially the withdrawal limits that make Nigeria looks like a communist state. He may argue that it will enable a cashless economy, but Nigeria has no infrastructure to support that yet.

“HURIWA demand that National Assembly uses its powers to compel Emefiele to suspend the policy, he is not bigger than all of Nigeria and if his monetary policy has the potential of destroying Nigeria and leading to job losses and other unintended consequences, he must be called to order as he is not more powerful than all of Nigerians.

“Rather than let Emefiele destroy the economy, the National Assembly should insist on him suspending the withdrawal limits that are draconian and anti-people. National Assembly must act decisively and save PoS operators from going extinct, creating opportunities for sophisticated crimes to escalate in an already charged and security-threatened country.

HURIWA also faulted the President for refusing to sack Emefiele, despite the failure of the latter.

“Is Emefiele the sacred cow of Buhari? What business does both of them have together so much so that Emefiele has been left in office even after he has failed woefully and even ventured into partisan politics by wanting to run for President as a card-carrying member of the All Progressives Congress, reportedly purchasing campaign buses and even approaching the court to stop his removal for going into partisan politics even whilst holding his position as CBN governor? Emefiele can’t be allowed to get away with this arrogance of power.”