Don’t grant Emefiele study leave to flee Nigeria, Gov Matawalle tells Buhari

The outgoing governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to grant ‘study leave’ to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, a few days before the inauguration of a new administration.

Matawalle, in a statement alleged that the reason Mr Emefiele allegedly sought such study leave was “apparently in a bid to evade rendering accounts.

“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 backwards.

” 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,” the Zamfara governor said.

On Sunday, presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu said he was unaware of such study leave.

“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,” the Zamfara governor wrote in his Monday statement.