President Muhammadu Buhari says he did not sack the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele over his partisan activities as he has no power to do so.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Buhari said the Governing Board of the CBN has the power to determine if the governor erred or not.
Emefiele came under fire after a group procured the N100 million All Progressives Congress, APC, presidential expression of interest and nomination form for him
The CBN governor later rejected the presidential forms, noting that should he heed the call to run for the presidency, he would use his “own hard-earned savings from over 35 years of banking leadership to buy my own Nomination Forms.”
Despite the outcry against his partisanship, Mr Emefiele also sued the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice over his eligibility.
He asked the court to stop INEC from disqualifying him from participating in the primary election of his preferred political party.
Amidst all these, Buhari refused to call the CBN boss to order or relieve him of his position.
Buhari said: “The CBN governor is appointed by the President. But this appointment is subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. Ultimately, it will be for the CBN’s board of directors to determine whether a CBN governor’s actions have fallen foul of the laws in place to ensure he can most effectively carry out his duties.
“But there is a subtext to the accusations. Because the governor follows a model outside of the economic orthodoxy, he is labelled political. But the orthodoxy has proved wrong time and again.
“Instead, the governor is following an alternative economic model that puts people at the heart of policy. Nigeria should be free to choose its development model and how to construct our economy, so it functions for Nigerians.”
Emefiele supported the policy of shutting down land borders to protect the local rice farmers in the country.
The bank also invested billions in the agro sector through the Anchor Borrowers Programme.
