Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle, has urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to approve a leave for the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and other government officials critical to the take-off of the incoming administration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.

Matawalle, who disclosed that Emefiele has sought a study leave to travel abroad, enjoined Buhari to cancel it in the interest of peaceful transfer of power, accountability, and good governance.

The governor said the CBN Governor should not be given approval to leave Nigeria before Tinubu’s inauguration on May 29, saying Emefiele must give full accounts of all that transpired under his watch to the incoming administration.

He said this via a statement issued and made available to The Star on Monday, May 15.

Governor Matawalle, who stressed that Emefiele sought study leave to evade rendering accounts, noted that the CBN boss must answer all the questions the new administration may have for him.

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Matawalle added that Emefiele initiated and implemented the recent naira swap policy, which put Nigerians in untold hardship.

He said: “I want to urge President Buhari to not approve any study leave or whatever kind of leave for any officer critical to the take-off of the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“One of such persons that has been speculated in the media to have sought a study leave is Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele. If the leave has been approved, as reported in the media, the President should cancel it in the interest of peaceful transfer of power, accountability, and good governance.

“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 backward.

“Two of my brother-governors and I took the Federal Government to court over this ill-advised policy and fought resolutely until we got a respite for our people from Emefiele and company.

“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.

“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 governor further enjoined President Buhari to also not approve foreign postings or grant any foreign travel for any official at any level in the outgoing government.

Matwalle added: “I’m aware that some officers in the outgoing government are moving to surreptitiously leave the country at this critical time they are needed to answer specific questions, though I would not want to mention their names here.

“President Buhari should not heed their inordinate and unpatriotic plan. These plans are dangerous and devilish. They show clearly that these officers have something to hide. This must be halted immediately.

“Any plan to evade rendering accounts is neither in the interest of accountability, transparency, and anti-corruption, which President Buhari had championed in government, nor in the interest of an unencumbered take-off of the incoming administration.

“It’s also not in the interest of the country, which the president has always promoted and championed. This is my appeal and why I have decided to speak out as a patriotic Nigerian and concerned governor,” Governor Matawalle stressed.

The Star