Governor Bello Matawalle of Zamfara State has kicked against the purported study leave granted to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
It’s been speculated that the President had approved the request of the CBN governor to proceed on study leave.
Reacting to the report, Matawalle said Emefiele does not deserve to go on such leave due to his monetary policy which he described as “a disastrous naira swap policy that subjected Nigerians to untold hardship.”
The Zamfara state Governor who called on Buhari to forfeit the leave to necessitate a peaceful transition of power added that the President should be frowning at any attempt by any person seeking to damage the good job he has done. Matawalle stated that Emefiele must account for his tenure before leaving the country.
He said;
“President Buhari and his wife Aisha Buhari have shown good faith and they want a seamless orderly, peaceful transfer of power to the incoming administration.
“They are eager to ensure that the new regime takes off smoothly and speedily and in a manner devoid of any encumbrance in the interest of our country. This is the right thing to do and I commend President Buhari and his wife for their statesmanly conduct.
“However, other officers in the government have acted in a different manner. They are behaving as if they want to put spanners in the work for the incoming regime. President Buhari should not allow this. He should frown at any attempt by any person seeking to damage the good job he has done.
“I want, here and now, to urge President Buhari to not approve any study leave or whatever kind of leave for any officer critical to the take-off of the incoming administration of Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“If the leave has been approved, as reported in the media, the President should cancel it in the interest of peaceful transfer of power, accountability and good governance.
“CBN Governor Emefiele superintended over the management of the country’s financial and monetary systems. He is the one who initiated and implemented the recent disastrous naira swap policy, the naira confiscation program, which put Nigerians through untold woes and trauma and set our economy backward.
“Two of my brother-governors and I took the Federal Government to court over this ill-advised policy and fought resolutely until we got a respite for our people from Emefiele and company.
“This same Emefiele now wants to proceed on study leave when he has some 10 months left of his tenure apparently in a bid to evade rendering accounts. This is unacceptable.
“President Buhari should not countenance this. Emefiele must stay at his job to give full accounts of all that transpired under his watch to the incoming administration. He must answer all the questions the new regime may have for him particularly when he still has some months left of his tenure.
“I’m aware that some officers in the outgoing government are moving to surreptitiously leave the country at this critical time they are needed to answer specific questions, though I would not want to mention their names here.
“President Buhari should not heed their inordinate and unpatriotic plan. These plans are dangerous and devilish.
“They show clearly that these officers have something to hide. This must be halted immediately. Any plan to evade rendering accounts is neither in the interest of accountability, transparency and anti-corruption.”
