A Delta State-based group, the Agbor Stakeholders Forum, ASF, has said that the prevailing economic woes in the country, arising from the economic policies of the Federal Government, have made a saint and hero out of former Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, instead of the ‘villain’ he is being painted to be by the current administration.

ASF, in a statement by Kanene Kachikwu, yesterday, said: “In less than one year, after he was forcefully and illegally yanked off his tenured position, in just nine months of this administration, the economy has unhinged and all indices are on a free fall.

“We posit that in the fullness of time, history will preserve his records as one of the most competent and most impactful governor ever to manage the Central Bank of Nigeria.

“To put the lie to the massive witch-hunt and political vendetta arrayed against our brother and kinsman by President Tinubu despite his impeccable and dedicated service to his motherland, Nigeria, the former CBN governor was credited with that, that went a long way in keeping Nigeria productive while he was in office.

“Since the current administration came into office, Emefiele was detained for over six months and investigated by the DSS, EFCC and a Special Investigator, but no serious misdemeanours or graft case has been established against him.” It did not stop there.

“The current case, after about half a dozen charges have been thrown out by various courts, is that he forged the president’s signature to procure $6.2million to pay international election observers.

“We are proud to say that if for about nine years as CBN governor, the only misdemeanour found in our brother is forgery of the president’s signature during 2023 elections, then Emefiele must be a saint indeed. Does a corrupt CBN governor need to forge any signatures to covet millions of dollars over nine years?

“But no such monies have been found on him or his immediate families and friends. The sum in question ($6.2million) was never traced to his account nor was he in charge of elections monitoring. So who got the money?

“They sing about N23 trillion ‘ways and means’ funds created by Emefiele and we challenge them to tell Nigerians how much loans and ‘ways and means’ funds they have procured in just nine months.

“We know that someday, the whole truth about the trial of Emefiele shall be revealed for all to see.

Meanwhile, if half of the energy devoted to hounding Emefiele had been channelled to catching crude oil thieves, Nigeria’s economy wouldn’t be in the free fall that it is today.

“About 80 percent of Nigeria’s crude oil is still being stolen, according to former president, Olusegun Obasanjo. We all know the oil thieves, why is this not being investigated? Why are they not apprehended?

“Nigeria has gone from an importer of refined oil products to importer of crude oil as well. What happened to our crude oil? Why is this not being investigated?

“Finally, we note that our brother should be courted and consulted to help the Tinubu administration succeed instead of the on-going mindless persecution.

“And we wager that no other government official in Nigeria can undergo the scrutiny our brother has been put through. Not even the president.”

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