Senate committee ignores allegations against Emefiele, endorse him for another term

Accusations that Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, was allegedly involved in ‘missing’ billions of dollars and Naira were Wednesday waved aside by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions which screened and approved him for a second term of five years.
Only a force majeure stands between Emefiele and confirmation by the full house as the Upper Legislative chamber is likely to endorse him.
However, a member of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Gudaji Kazaure (APC, Jigawa), at a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday asked President Mohammadu Buhari to rescind his decision to reappoint Emefiele.
He said the President’s decision was ill-advised, and could derail the administration’s Change and Next Level agenda.
Said he: “We are in the government of change, and we are heading to the next level. But the reappointment of the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, surprised me and many other Nigerians of integrity.
“We believe Buhari is a man of integrity; he is also fighting corruption. But if we can remember in this country, many things happened under the Goodluck Jonathan administration.
“Now, we are accusing Dasuki, Diezani, and Nenadi Usman of corruption. But we have not asked who was in charge at the CBN when all the money was released,”
At the Senate screening, members of the committee dismissed the allegations of financial malfeasance either as a result of leaked tapes reported by online newspaper, Sahara Reporters; or a petition by whistle-blower, Dr. George Uboh.
Uboh is already in court and is mobilising on social media to stop Emefiele.
But chairman of the Senate Committee, said the allegations were targeted at bringing the CBN governor you down because he is a good person.
He added: “I do not have any question for the Governor. I am overwhelmed. I wish you well and pray for you. May God continue to guide you.
“Now, we know the reason why there are some videos on social media because in Nigeria, once you are a good person, some people will always try to bring you down. We will expeditiously take a report to the chamber for consideration. You can take a bow”.
During his screening, the apex bank boss urged Federal Government to consider giving priority to palm oil production, because it attracts more money than crude oil in the international market.
He said, “in the 60s, Nigeria controlled 40 per cent share in the global palm oil chain’’.
“We were exporting our palm oil to different parts of the world, but because we found crude oil, we receded and abandoned it.
“The price of a tonne of palm oil is more than the price of a barrel of crude oil. So, what happened?
“For other countries, when they had the opportunity in agriculture and in the crude sector, they did not let their guards down; unfortunately, we did and that is what we are paying for today.
“We will grow that market again and after that, we will go into cocoa”.