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PFN Seeks Probe of Emefiele, CBN Governor over Alleged Diversion of Funds for Presidential Ambition
Patriotic Front of Nigeria (PFN), a youth-based civil society group, has called on members of the National Assembly, to as a matter of urgent public importance, investigate cases of financial misappropriation against Mr. Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor
Emefiele, the group alleged, had used the many CBN’s intervention funds for Nigerians in the post-COVID-19 era and other resources of the apex bank, to service his political associates and for his 2023 presidential ambition.
The PFN, in a statement signed by Comrade Tope Badmus, convener, and made available to journalists Monday; alleged that Emefiele was consulting to contest for President.
The group also advised the CBN Governor to “immediately resign” his appointment, so as to protect the image, integrity and sanctity of the apex bank, which should be known for political neutrality and professionalism.
“The Patriotic Front of Nigeria (PFN) has watched with growing concern, the ongoing activities to actualize the presidential ambition of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, in view of the inherent abuse that has seen him divert CBN’s resources in pursuit of his personal agenda.
“In recent weeks, Emefiele has personalized the apex bank’s resources for organizing political rallies and for questionable donations to political activities that have no bearing on the CBN’s role as a regulator of the financial sector.
“It is most unfortunate that the CBN Governor is now doling out CBN’s funds to political jobbers that are organizing campaigns or other events for him. The practice increased because Mr. Emefiele continues to oblige such requests. While this trend was initially perplexing, it is now clear that Mr. Emefiele’s unethical handling of CBN’s resources is directly linked to his political agenda.
“In addition to this unethical behaviour, all the intervention programmes of the CBN under Mr. Emefiele are conduits for funneling public recourses to politicians, especially in the north, who he is banking on for support. These Emefiele’s political associates in turn use the funds given in the guise of loans to service their political careers by allocating such interventions to their political underlings.
“Laudable programmes that were intended to provide succor to Nigerians and strengthen the economy were hijacked for political patronage by the CBN Governor, who should have been ensuring neutrality in the administration of these programmes.
“In view of the foregoing and the worsening performance of the naira under his watch, PFN hereby calls on Mr. Godwin Emefiele to toe the path of honour by immediately resigning as the Governor of CBN to pursue his political ambition. He cannot continue to imperil the economy with his politicization of an organization that is programmed to run on neutrality and professionalism.
“Also, we demand that the Senate and the House of Representatives investigate Mr. Emefiele’s tenure as CBN Governor to establish the extent to which the institution was converted into the finance department of his presidential campaign organization. The National Assembly must do the needful to succeed in this investigation,” the statement reads.
The group also lamented that the country’s economy has taken a huge hit during the time Emefiele is heading the CBN, but that rather than focus on how to get the economy back on track, the CBN governor is focusing on politics.
It said, “The real tragedy is that Nigeria’s economy has taken hits after hits while Mr. Emefiele focuses on his political sojourn, which he reportedly plans to actualize on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He has practically abandoned the actual running of the CBN to his pals in the Bankers Committee, which has effectively left economic decisions in the hand of commercial banks that the CBN is meant to regulate”.
The PFN asserted that “the call from the Green Alliance for Mr. Emefiele to contest for president in 2023 elections is the final proof that his continued stay in his current position no longer serves the CBN’s interest, neither does it portend well for Nigeria and Nigerians. He will now increase the use of CBN resources for organizing his presidential political rallies, which is not good for the economy”.
If nothing is done by the National Assembly, the group anticipated “more negative effects from the CBN Governor’s political interest on the economy,” stressing that it would get worse as Emefiele would roll out more unethical policies to curry favours from his associates.
CommunicationsWeek Media Limited, a certified global ICT company with over two million online subscribers, is delighted and proud to announce Prof. Yakub Aliyu, as the keynote speaker at Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture series 2024.
Aliyu, will be speaking on the theme: Artificial Intelligence (AI): The Good, The Complex and The Anticipated”, this leans heavily on the fact that AI changing our lives– we just need to know where to look today.
This year’s rebranded Africa’s Beacon of ICT Merit and Leadership Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series is slated for Saturday, May 25, 2024 at the Four Points by Sheraton, Lagos.
The event is the most prestigious annual event that brings together captains of industry in both technology and financial worlds.
According to Ken Nwogbo, CEO, Communication Week Media Ltd, organisers of the ABoICT Distinguished Lecture/Awards Series, “the choice of Prof. Yakub Aliyu is deliberate because of his exceptional career in Artificial Intelligence (AI)”.
He added that, AI is considered to have the potential to instigate a fourth industrial revolution,1 and is dramatically changing people’s patterns of interaction and economic activities.
“The traditional factors of production and physical capital and labour may no longer promote substantial economic growth. It is generally believed that AI will be one of the most important factors determining future economic growth,” he said.
A professor of microelectronics and a scholar-practitioner in artificial intelligence and deep machine learning for industrial applications and high-speed application processors. His research interests include Multimodal AI models for high-efficiency industrial robot applications and Human AI interactions.
He also has adjunct academic professorships at five African, USA, and UK universities. Holds a BS in Applied Physics Electronics from Karlsruhe and A Bello Universities in Germany and Nigeria, an MBA in International Business Management from the University of London, an MSEE (Master of Engineering, Electronics), and a Ph.D. in Electronics Engineering from the University of Wales.
Prof. Aliyu is the global quality director for Bourns Inc., Riverside, California, USA, an electronics system, and components manufacturer. I oversee quality functions in 21 factories worldwide.
He has also held quality and operational management leadership positions at National Semiconductors, Bell Labs-Lucent Technology, Texas Instrument, Global Foundries, and Roper Technologies USA.
Authored and coauthored over 30 Advanced Technology United States-issued patents in High-Speed Application Processors and Contributed to over 40 international impact Journals, chapters, and conferences; FASI, SMIEEE USA, MIEE UK, M. Inst pf Physics Chartered Phys and C Eng UK.
Past lecturers included Dr. Ernest Ndukwe, then executive vice chairman, Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC); Engr. Yomi Bolarinwa, former Director-General of National Broadcasting Commission (NBC); Dr. Jean Luc Fort, CEO at OR System France and a specialist in Counterparty Risk; and Professor Chris Nwagboso, Chairman, Knowledge Factory International, United Kingdom.
Others are: Uche Orji, managing director/chief executive officer, Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA); Biodu Omoniyi, Managing Director/CEO, VDT Communications; Ayotunde Coker, Managing Director, Rack Centre Limited; Peter Adedayo Arogundade, managing director and chief executive officer, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited; Dr. Adewale Obadare, chief visionary officer, Digital Encode and John Obaro, CEO and founder of Systemspecs; Prof. Isa Pantanmi, minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Dr. Seyi Akindeind, co-founder, Digital Encode; Dr Krishnan Ranganath, Regional Director, Africa Data Centres.
Legit.ng recently joined forces with the Shade of Life Foundation to become a voice of autism, and drive advocacy for improved media support during Autism Awareness Month.
Participants at the event
Conversations around media support exploration was led by Joseph Omotayo, head of Department for Human Interest Stories at Legit.ng, and Dr. Eziafakaku Nwokolo, founder and CEO of the Shade of Life Foundation,
This partnership is a response to the concerns raised by organizations like the Shade of Life Foundation about the level of support received from the media in discussing autism as a disability.
While other disabilities may receive attention, autism, with its critical developmental implications often lacks adequate representation in mainstream media.
Recognizing the importance of addressing these concerns, Legit.ng took proactive steps by integrating itself into the essence of autism awareness.
It facilitated a one-hour workshop with Dr. Nwokolo, the founder of the foundation, to deepen our understanding of autism, its various spectrums, and the language boundaries associated with it.
Other steps we took in advocating autism awareness in the media, can be seen in our attached press release.
Legit.ng believes that by amplifying the voices of autism and advocating for better media representation, we can contribute to creating a more inclusive and accepting society for all.
While 85 per cent of Nigeria is in darkness, Tanzania, an African country has shut down five hydroelectric stations in a bid to reduce excess electricity in the national grid.
Kassim Majaliwa, prime minister, Tanzania, has said the main plant, Mwalimu Nyerere Hydroelectric Station, alone generated enough electricity to power major cities, including Dar es Salaam, the country’s commercial hub.
It is the first time Tanzania, which suffers chronic power shortages, has closed hydroelectric stations due to excess production.
“We have turned off all these stations because the demand is low and the electricity production is too much, we have no allocation now,” an official from state-run power company, Tanesco, said.
The 2,115MW Julius Nyerere Hydropower Dam is said to be almost filled with water following heavy rains that started early this year.
Meanwhile, while the country has an installed capacity of 1,938MW and the grid installed capacity of 1,899MW, Nigeria which has an installed capacity of 13,000MW is struggling to electrify 85 per cent of its electricity consumers.
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