Group Withdraws Objection to Emefiele's Nomination for CBN Governor

Godwin Emefiele

By Tobi Soniyi

The Public Interest Lawyers League (PILL) yesterday in Abuja made a u-turn and withdrew its objection to the nomination of the Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, Godwin Emefiele, as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The group had last week written an open letter to President Goodluck Jonathan, asking him to reconsider Emefiele's nomination because of the fact that Emefiele was coming from Zenith Bank which was allegedly fingered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in 2008 for alleged criminal diversion of N3.6 billion from the coffers of Rivers State Government.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, ‎the President of PILL, Mr. Abdul Mahmud, admitted that his organisation was wrong when it went out to oppose Emefiele's nomination without carrying out adequate investigation.

He said the group had since discovered that Emefiele was not connected to the alleged N3.6 billion heist and as a top executive of Zenith Bank at the time of the heist, adding he was never arrested or quizzed by the EFCC.

The group said it changed its position after conducting a due diligence checks on Emefiele.

According to him, "mercifully, as our checks reveal, and judging by a groundswell of opinion of insiders of the banking sector and the financial market, Emefiele is an expert in forecasting and bench-marking and he is known to be deft at taking informed decisions, while leveraging on his sometimes calculated-risk-talking skills to crystallise benefits from existing and future opportunities."

He said the group's expectation was that Emefiele would lead the bank with the best of his entrepreneurial and managerial abilities.

He said: "Contrary to wrong perceptions in some quarters, we are made to understand that Mr. Emefiele is a very unassuming personality who has never been associated with unethical practice in his over 27 years professional career.

"Verifiable evidences show that during his stint as MD, Zenith Bank became the first bank to achieve N100 billion after tax profit in a financial year.

"Evidently, Emefiele is a resourceful manager of people and resources and with his roots in the academia, as a former lecturer at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and the University of Port Harcourt, we are confident he will put his knowledge and experience to excellent use, make significant contributions to our country's micro and macroeconomic growth, going forward.

"As he appears for screening before distinguished senate committee, we throw our weight behind him a positive nod of approval.

"Discerning our findings, we wish for the sake of clarity to state two fundamental points. Firstly, we are committed to securing and preserving the independence of our public institutions and integrity of our public servants. That commitment informed our open letter to Mr. President. Secondly, and more importantly, we have nothing personal against Emefiele."