To Be Or Not To Be: Suspense As Emefiele Takes Presidential Bid To Court, Awaits Verdict

To Be Or Not To Be: Suspense As Emefiele Takes Presidential Bid To Court, Awaits Verdict

  • Godwin Emefiele has told the Federal High Court in Abuja to determine whether he is wrong not to resign from his office before contesting elections
  • The CBN governor's legal representative at the court on Monday, May 9, was Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN)
  • Respondents mentioned in the suit are Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami and INEC

Abuja - It is no more rumour - Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is interested in taking over President Muhammadu Buhari's seat in 2023.

In fact, Emefiele in a suit filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja through Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), is praying for a declaration that he is not bound to resign to participate in a primary election, The Nation reports.

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2023: Emefiele obtains court order to grant him stay at CBN as he eyes presidency

Godwin Emefiele
The CBN boss is to await the court's verdict on his case (Photo: @GodwinIEmefiele)
Source: Twitter

As the sole plaintiff in the suit, the CBN governor mentioned the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) Abubakar Malami as respondents.

Part of his prayer to the court is to determine whether Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 is not inconsistent with Section 137 (1)(G) of the 1999 Constitution.

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Part of the basis for the application reads:

“That the plaintiff has aspiration to seek election to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and participate as a candidate in the upcoming 2023 elections.
“That section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 provides that: ‘No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election’.

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“That the plaintiff verily believes that he is not affected by these provisions, as he is not a political appointee as envisaged by the above provisions of section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“That the Central Bank of Nigeria is entirely (100 percent) owned by the Nigerian Federal Government, and therefore constitutes a government agency with the meaning and intendment of Section 318 of 1999 Constitution.”

Why APC was not joined as a respondent

Speaking with Leadership before the hearing of the case on Monday, Ozekhome was quoted to have said:

”We have to file a motion exparte, which we will move before the judge this morning. The parties in the motion are the AGF and INEC chairman.
”We did not join the APC because my client has not told me he is a member of any political party yet.”

CBN governor Godwin Emefiele must resign immediately, Akeredolu declares

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Appellate court upholds validity of section 84(12) of electoral act

Recall that Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo had asked Emefiele to resign his position if he wanted to contest the presidency.

Akeredolu, in a statement he personally signed on Friday, May 6, said Emefiele’s purported action, “if unchecked timeously portends great danger to the fragile economy of the country.”

According to him, Emefiele cannot participate actively in partisan politics and also hold the position of CBN governor.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Onyirioha Nnamdi avatar

Onyirioha Nnamdi Onyirioha Nnamdi is a graduate of Literature and English Language at the University of Lagos. He is a Politics/Current Affairs Editor who writes on news and political topics for Legit.ng. He brings into his reporting a wealth of experience in creative and analytical writing. Nnamdi has a major interest in local and global politics. He has a professional certificate from Reuters and was awarded the editor with the best listicle for 2021. Contact: 08062988054, o.nnamdi@corp.legit.ng