The Agbor Stakeholders Forum, a group based in Delta State, has urged the Senate President, Mr. Godswill Akpabio, to refrain from publicly criticizing former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
They cautioned that such actions could reflect poorly on Akpabio himself, given his own vulnerabilities.
This call came after Akpabio reportedly made disparaging remarks about Emefiele at a reception in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, accusing him of leaving a financial mess for others to clean up. The forum, led by Kanene Kachikwu, highlighted a previous incident where Akpabio had similarly attacked Emefiele in Rivers State, questioning his integrity and alleging unspecified wrongdoing.
While reprimanding Akpabio for making “such careless and baseless statements” against Emefiele, the group reminded him that his unguarded utterances in this regard may amount “an act of self-annihilation as it may end up debasing him and his exalted office”, adding that “he must not take Emefiele’s professionalism and deep patriotism for granted”. Making references to Akpabio’s past tenures as governor and minister, the group alleged that he did not exactly cover himself in glory.
The group said, “There’s no gainsaying that our brother Emefiele is a saint compared to Akpabio. Need we reiterate that Emefiele rose to the heights of his banking career, helping to build one of the biggest and best banks in Africa. It was at the pinnacle of the hallowed financial institution that he was headhunted for the exalted job of governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.
“As CBN governor, discerning analysts will testify that Emefiele saved the Buhari administration. His sterling policies prevented Nigeria’s economy from plunging headlong into the abyss as we have seen in the last one year. Emefiele’s unique and customised development financing was the game-changer during the Buhari era.
“We state without a fear of contradiction that while Emefiele has been turned inside out by numerous investigators for one year with no a concrete charge, Akpabio cannot stand one day of scrutiny.
“Finally, we state once again as we have done from day one that our brother is an innocent victim of a vicious APC power play. Emefiele was caught in the crossfire of APC’s presidential tussle during the 2023 presidential election. The election has been won and lost. Fortunately, President Tinubu got his coveted prize. We urge him to show magnanimity and exhibit statesmanship. We urge him to grant Emefiele amnesty and let him go, especially on the first anniversary of his tenure.
“We dare to add that Emefiele still has so much to contribute, particularly in times of economic turbulence as we witness in Nigeria today.”
