NEWS
Emefiele Probe: Don’t Let Yourselves Be Used By Politicians – Saraki Tells DSS
The plot to remove Godwin Emefiele as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to former Senate President Bukola Saraki, is connected to the 2023 election.
The former governor of Kwara issued a warning to security organizations not to allow themselves to be used to rig the presidential election.
Emefiele was accused of supporting terrorism and committing economic crimes by the Department of State Services (DSS), which hurts the apex bank’s reputation and raises concerns about additional currency depreciation.
Saraki stated this in a statement on Wednesday through his Media Office in Abuja, while reacting to the recent court case in which the De-partment of State Services (DSS) accused the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, of terrorism and other sundry charges.
DSS seeks a court order for Emefiele’s arrest.
“As somebody who had been wrongly accused of involvement in the Offa robbery by political opportunists and manipulators before their evil plots are now beginning to unravel in the court of law, I feel that a similar intrigue is being woven by those who are bent on sabotaging the 2023 election as the obvious outcome is not going their way.
“In this court case in which the CBN governor is being accused of terrorism through a suit which the Federal High Court has now described as frivolous and without con- crete evidence, my position is not to support Emefiele but to support democracy which is being targeted by the plotters.
“With all the due respect that I have for the DSS as a very professional security agency, I still find it very difficult to understand what led to the charges, why concrete evidence that will enable the court to take a good decision was not provided and why the department gave room for suspicion and speculations as the case file has gaping holes as noted by the Honourable Judge John Tsoho.
“One of the suspicions this case has raised is that it is part of a grand plot by those who want to undermine and sabotage the coming general election because their calculation on vote buying, rigging, and excessive use of money is falling apart.
“The CBN guidelines have derailed the plan of those who believe that they will not allow the ‘one man, one vote’ system in which the electorate freely choose their representatives in a fair and peaceful atmosphere.
“I urge the DSS, police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), the military, and all security agencies to be wary of political manipulators, despots, and anarchists who may want to use the case to derail the free and fair election regime that the new Electoral Act, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and President Muhammadu Buhari have promised.
“These same undesirable elements in the political process have attempted to use the National Assembly to scuttle the electoral process by frustrating the provisions on electronic transmission of results, use of Biometric Voters Accreditation System (BVAS), the new guidelines on currency change and cash withdrawal. They failed. They have also put pressure on the presidency to reverse some of these innovations.
“They did not succeed. Now, they are resorting to the use of the judiciary.
“Their desperate resort to the manipulation of the judicial process and the use of security agencies that may be inadvertently lending support to the plot without knowing the full implication and ramifications should remind Nigerians of the antics of the Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) which was used by antidemocratic elements during the military transition programme in the early 90s.
“I, hereby, urge the security agencies to distance themselves from the anarchists and anti-democratic elements masquerading as democrats or political players.
“With the current situation in the country, all the citizens, national institutions, residents, and foreign friends of Nigeria should commit to the goal of having free, fair, peaceful and credible polls in 2023.
“It is my prayer that next years election should provide a positive turning point for rebuilding, refocusing, resetting, redeeming, restructuring, repositioning, and revamping our country.”
Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar has criticized the federal government’s plan to secure an additional N1.7 trillion loan through Eurobonds to cover a shortfall in the 2024 budget, describing the borrowing as unsustainable and harmful to Nigeria’s economy.
In a statement shared on Thursday via his X (formerly Twitter) handle, Atiku accused the Bola Tinubu-led administration of burdening Nigerians with debt while failing to provide clear answers about the country’s fiscal challenges.
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He also faulted the National Assembly for enabling what he called a “voracious appetite” for loans.
The former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential candidate expressed alarm over a recent World Bank report ranking Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), calling the development troubling.
“The recent report released by the World Bank, showing Nigeria as the third most indebted country to the International Development Association (IDA), is very concerning,” Atiku stated.
He raised further concerns about the government’s decision to benchmark the proposed loan at an exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official rate being over N1,600.
“What makes this particular loan proposal even more concerning is that it is benchmarked at the exchange rate of 1 USD to N800, whereas the current exchange rate from the Central Bank of Nigeria stands at over N1,600 to 1 USD,” he said.
Atiku questioned the need for additional borrowing, given the government’s earlier claims of record-high revenue collection.
“In July this year, Tinubu boasted that the FIRS and Customs under his watch had collected all-time high revenues to finance the budget. Why are they still borrowing?” he said
He accused the government of a lack of transparency, describing the borrowing spree as detrimental to Nigerians already struggling under economic hardship.
“There is something that they are not telling Nigerians, even as they are being crushed by a combination of their failed trial-and-error policies and loan rackets.”
Atiku also referenced a report by BudgIT, a budget monitoring group, which criticized the 2024 budget for its inefficiencies.
He alleged that corruption, rather than infrastructure or development needs, was driving the government’s borrowing decisions.
“These loans are powered by corruption and not for infrastructure and development needs. This voracious appetite for humongous loans is deeply concerning,” he said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s financial history, Atiku lamented the return to significant foreign indebtedness just years after former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration cleared the country’s debt.
“It is agonizing to see that just a few years after the Obasanjo administration took us out of foreign indebtedness, we are today back at the top spot in the same conundrum,” he stated.
He called for a more cautious approach to borrowing, urging the government to prioritize fiscal responsibility and transparency to avoid worsening Nigeria’s economic challenges.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has taken a historic step, issuing arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
The charges include crimes against humanity and war crimes allegedly committed during Israel’s recent assault on Gaza.
In a detailed statement, the ICC accused the Israeli leaders of “intentionally and knowingly depriving the civilian population in Gaza of objects indispensable to their survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical supplies, as well as fuel and electricity.”
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The ICC’s move marks a significant escalation in international scrutiny of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Netanyahu and Gallant are alleged to have orchestrated policies that caused severe harm to the civilian population in Gaza, leading to widespread condemnation from human rights organizations.
Alongside the charges against Israeli officials, the ICC also issued an arrest warrant for Hamas military commander Mohammed Deif. Deif has long been a central figure in Hamas’s military operations. Israel’s military claims to have killed him in a July airstrike, although this has not been independently verified.
The warrants highlight growing calls for accountability amid the ongoing conflict in the region. The ICC’s actions are likely to provoke heated debate and may complicate diplomatic efforts aimed at resolving the crisis.
With the warrants issued, global attention now turns to how the international community will respond and whether any practical steps will be taken to enforce them.
Governor Monday Okpebholo of Edo State has inaugurated a 12-member committee tasked with recovering government vehicles reportedly in private hands.
The committee, led by Kelly Okungbowa, has been given a two-week mandate to retrieve the vehicles and ensure their return to the state government.
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Speaking during the inauguration ceremony in Benin City, Governor Okpebholo emphasized the importance of accountability in the management of public resources.
He urged the committee to carry out its assignment thoroughly and within the bounds of the law.
In his response, Okungbowa expressed gratitude to the governor for entrusting the team with the assignment, vowing to deliver results within the stipulated timeframe.
“A lot of vehicles used by the past administration are missing, as those in custody of the vehicles have refused to return them,” Okungbowa said.
“The governor deemed it fit to inaugurate us today with a mandate to recover all government vehicles in private hands.”
The committee, which includes representatives from Edo’s three senatorial districts, is set to investigate and recover the vehicles based on credible intelligence already at their disposal.
“We already have vital information regarding some persons still holding government vehicles,” Okungbowa stated. “We will do the job according to the law, and both the government and the people will be satisfied with the outcome.”
He also called on members of the public to assist the committee by providing information about any government vehicles that may still be in private possession.
“We want to appeal to members of the public who might be aware of anyone still keeping government vehicles in their houses to please inform us to enable the committee to recover such for the Edo State Government,” Okungbowa said.
The committee’s vice chairman, Rt. Hon. Victor Edoror, a former Speaker of the Edo State House of Assembly, will work alongside other members to ensure the success of the initiative. The public can reach the committee at 08110165121.
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