Court Vacates Order Restraining Central Bank from Sacking Emefiele, Over Presidential Ambition

A Delta State High Court sitting in Kwale has discharged an order restraining the Board of the Central Bank of Nigeria from removing Governor Godwin Emefiele over his 2023 political ambition with the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress.

The court ruled on Tuesday that the order of May 5 “is hereby deemed vacated and set aside.”

Justice DC Maidoh of the court, last week, granted an order restraining the Board of Central Bank of Nigeria and Independent National Electoral Commission from stopping the CBN governor, Emefiele from seeking an elective post.

Armed with the court papers, Emefiele had gleefully approached President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday after which he stated that Nigerians could die of a heart attack if he failed to leave office.

But on, in a fresh court judgment, set aside the judgment Emefiele relied on to perpetuate his stay in office.

The court documents were shared by popular human rights lawyer, Chidi Odinkalu.

Odinkalu wrote, “#Breaking: The High Court of Delta State sitting in Kwale has discharged the order restraining the Board of @cenbank from firing the criminal & bandit, #EmefiOle, @GodwinIEmefiele, who has taken the #CBN hostage. So, now, we insist #MeffyMustGoToJail.”

Last Thursday, while reacting to his controversial presidential ambition which had seen many groups and notable Nigerians call for his resignation to preserve the sanctity of the treasury and national economy, Emefiele boasted that he was having fun and cared less about what people had to say.

He had met with State House Correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

Reacting to a report that the President had asked him to resign after he purchase the presidential nomination and expression of interest forms of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Emefiele said, “There is no news now, but there will be news. You heard me, I said there is no news but there will be news.”

But when told that Nigerians were eager to know his position, he said: “Let them have a heart attack. It’s good to have a heart attack. I am having a lot of fun.”

Emiefele had through a proxy, Augustine Eddiego approached the court asking, “An order restraining the defendants from treating the provision of section 9 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 as amended as a bar on the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from seeking political offices pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice herein in this suit which borders on the interpretation and supremacy of the 1999 CFRN.”