Alleged Missing N89tr: CSOs Apologise to Emefiele over Call for His Arrest, Visa Ban

Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja

A coalition of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) on Monday tendered an unreserved apology to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over calls for his visa ban over alleged missing of N89 trillion stamp duty.

They also apologized over a call to declare him a persona non grata, and be arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) amongst others.

The leaders of the coalition, Mohammed Ibrahim of Northern Leaders Coalition; Gbenga Ganzallo of League of Professionals for Good Governance and Accountability; and Chief Sampam of Transparency Africa, while reading the apology letter during a press conference in Abuja, noted that the allegations against him were false and untrue of his person and office.

The coalition stressed that the apology was  premised on superior arguments made available to them concerning activities and interventions of the CBN under the leadership of Emefiele.

It noted that having weighed the details of what was made available to the CSOs against the CBN governor, they have realised that they acted on wrong information.

It stated: “We hereby tender our unreserved apology to the CBN governor for getting involved wrongfully and joining forces to call for his arrest and removal from office. This action we sincerely regret and apologize.

“We hereby declare our unalloyed support for Emefiele and his numerous policies that are approved by President Buhari. Again, call on all detractors to stop propagating falsehood and blackmail against the CBN Governor and to allow him to focus on his core mandate which is monetary policy with an immense value.”

The coalition called on the DSS to allow the CBN governor to perform his constitutional duties as well as respect court orders concerning the issue and halt intimidating him.

“Also, we urge our political class to allow our public officers to work and not to be distracted in any form. We respectfully urge the DSS to sheath their sword and work with the CBN Governor to eradicate illicit financial flows in the country with great efficiency.

“We need peace in our polity as we approach the 2023 general election. The political class is hereby warned to desist from fake news and blackmail as a way to ensure free, fair and credible elections come 2023.

“We frown on behavioural tendencies that would destabilize our democracy. Again, we make bold to say that we want peace and nothing but peace,” the coalition said.