ACCORDING  to the 2007 Central Bank Act, the governor of the bank should devote the entirety of his time to the service of the nation’s apex bank, not engaging in anything  to jeopardize his commitment to the institution. In chapter nine, the Act states that the governor of the Central Bank should not engage in any full or part time employment, whether remunerated or not , except such personal or charitable causes do not conflict with or disturb them from carrying out their duties.Obviously, the Act implies that the governor of the Central Bank should stay away from partisan politics or resign their full-time position with the bank if they intend to take part in it.

THE provisions of the act come to mind when recently the Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, indicated an interest in vying for the All Progressives  Congress’s presidential ticket for the 2023 general elections, without first resigning his full-time position.The Hope frowns at Emefiele’s refusal to vacate his exalted position, seeing it as an infringement of the provisions contained in the Act.Of course, we are aware that some members of farmers’ association in the country ignited Emefiele’s interest by purchasing the APC’s Presidential Expression of Interest and Nomination forms for him, but the fact that he showed an interest in vying should have told him to resign from his office.

TO make matters worse, Emefiele’s fingers could be seen in the suit filed by lawyers asking him not to be sacked for showing an interest in taking part in the contest, which the court duly granted him.Though Emefiele ultimately refused to take an advantage of what the court granted him, and announced that he no longer wanted to take part in the APC pimaries, the fact that he showed an interest at all condemns him.To complicate the situation, photos of over 80 branded vehicles having Emefiele’s pictures and logo of the ruling APC flooded the internet days before Emefiele withdrew his interest in taking part in the presidential contest. If he doesn’t resign after showing a behavior clearly at variance with the Central Bank’s Act, he would be showing a bad precedent in the bank, by breaking the bank’s rule with impunity, an act which affects discipline in the institution in the near future.

OF course, some argue that Emefiele’s mere interest will not leave any negative impression on the nation’s monetary terrain, especially as Emefiele backed out of the contest after meeting the president.For others too, politics indicates personal preferences on how a nation achieves governance, so people who show an interest only exercise their right in expressing their preference on the process leading to leadership of the country.For others still, Emefiele committed no unpardonable crime, because like situations the world over, political appointees sometimes err by seeking elective offices while still occupying another position.

HOWEVER, Emefiele acted in error by seeking the APC presidential slot while occupying the CBN governorship position, because it is a sensitive political office, and his personal preferences for the APC would be read into any monetary decision he takes on behalf of the Nigerian economy.

NEEDLESS  to say, lots of people felt embarrassed by Emefiele’s foray into politics, and the brazen filing of lawsuits against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation irked a lot of Nigerians.In addition, the president also felt embarrassedbecause according to some reports the president chided the Central Bank boss for his actions. Unfortunately, professionals in the banking industry feel uncomfortable,  if Emefiele remains in office after the fiasco he just subjected himself, people will continue having the suspicion that governance can’t be right in our polity.

CONSEQUENTLY, we condemn the manner Emefiele recently conducted himself. We  also show a great displeasure at the way he addressed Nigerians when asked questions about the propriety of his actions as he was seen in a video saying “Nigerians can have heart attacks while I am having fun” We not only condemn his attitude, we think the federal government should establish a supervisory agency to prevent public servants from carrying out behaviors akin to the one the nation just witnessed from Emefiele.

WE therefore call on the federal government to conduct an investigation into the affairs of the Central Bank, and if Emefiele is found to have conducted any misdemeanor, he should be punished for it.Also, we feel the Central Bank governor should resign his position, as the office only fits someone who desires to act as the foremost regulator of the nation’s economy and not for anyone who aspires to become the president.

FINALLY, the federal  government should sack him  if he refuses to resign, because the bad example he set could make many doubt  his future activities as the governor, ultimately undermining any fiscal policy emerging from that sector, as many could consider them to be politically motivated, due to Emefiele’s open show of support for the APC.