Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has resumed duty after weeks of suspense about his whereabouts.
The Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, who disclosed this in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, said he resumed after his yearly vacation abroad.
“Mr. Emefiele, who proceeded on leave in December 2022, resumed work today, Monday, January 16, 2023. The Governor resumed with renewed vigour to perform his duty ahead of the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year scheduled for January 23 to 24, 2023,” he stated.
Nwanisobi insisted Emefiele remains committed to performing the task before him, in line with his oath of office and the policy direction of President Muhammadu Buhari.
While thanking the public for keeping faith with the bank, the CBN urged Nigerians to continue to support its policies aimed at ensuring a stable financial system and the Nigerian economy in general.
The apex bank was silent about men of the DSS who allegedly invaded its premises.
Meanwhile, Department of State Services (DSS), yesterday, denied invading the headquarters of the CBN over alleged sponsorship of terrorism by Emefiele.
Spokesperson of the agency, Peter Afunanya, in a terse statement, described the report alleging that the secret police took over the office of the governor of the CBN as misleading.
“The attention of the (DSS) has been drawn to the false news making the rounds that its operatives invaded the Central Bank of Nigeria and arrested the governor today (yesterday). This is fake news and quite misleading,” Afunanya said.
Earlier, it was gathered that operatives of the agency stormed the CBN commando style and took over the office of Emefiele.
The agencies’ armed personnel allegedly entered the premises with about 20 vehicles. It was also learnt that the operatives barred all staff of the bank from gaining access to Emefiele’s office.
Recall that the DSS had accused Emefiele of allegedly sponsoring terrorism against Nigeria. The secret service had also sought a court order to arrest Emefiele.
The Federal High Court had, in December, barred the DSS from arresting, inviting, or detaining Emefiele.
Chief Judge of the Abuja Federal High Court, John Tsoho, while ruling on the matter, described the suit as an illegal operation and plot to deceive the court into granting a frivolous order to help arrest and deprive an innocent man of his personal liberty.
This came as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria of Nigeria (SAN), Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, charged the DSS to file a suit against Emefiele, if it has concrete evidence against him.
The Lagos-based lawyer, in a statement made available to The Guardian, yesterday, said: “It is better to make everything plain and open to the Nigerian people. Nobody should be above the law. The various crises surrounding the CBN governor do not speak well for the nation’s economy.
“There should be no undue persecution or arrest of any citizen without lawful cause or justification but no one should be shielded from probe.”
The senior lawyer said: “The DSS does not require the arrest of a citizen in order to file a charge in court if there is truly an allegation. The issues of alleged stamp duty and alleged sponsorship of terrorism are documentary.
“The charge, once filed, will of itself speak to compel the attendance of the defendant. There is, therefore, no need for the seemingly unending drama between Mr. Emefiele, the DSS, and the Presidency, unless, of course, it is part of the hidden agenda.”
To perform his duty ahead of the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year scheduled for January 23 to 24, 2023,” he stated.
Nwanisobi insisted Emefiele remains committed to performing the task before him, in line with his oath of office and the policy direction of President Muhammadu Buhari.
While thanking the public for keeping faith with the bank, the CBN urged Nigerians to continue to support its policies aimed at ensuring a stable financial system and the Nigerian economy in general.
The apex bank was silent about men of the DSS who allegedly invaded its premises.