The All Progressives Congress (APC), South African chapter on Wednesday advocated for effective opposition party to serve as watchdog and panacea to the country’s democratic challenges.
Bola Babarinde, Chairman of the chapter, who stated this in a statement in Lagos, said that ahead of the 2023 general elections, the present administration needed good opposition parties to be on the right path.
Babarinde decried the alleged refusal of some members of President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet having political ambition to resign their appointments.
He noted that the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele had also “decided to put his foot down by legally exploring ways to perpetuate himself in office while running for President simultaneously.”
According to him, it is not just legally wrong for the CBN Governor to be partisan but also “morally bankrupt of him to be a card carrying member of a political party.”
“An organisation like the Central Bank of Nigeria that keeps sensitive INEC materials in it vaults for security reason which is very crucial to the electoral umpire should at least be neutral and apolitical.
“The leadership of such organisation owes the nation neutrality during and after an election.
“It is quite unfortunate that even the opposition, that supposed to challenge the anomaly in the court of law and subject the abnormality to public scrutiny by massive sensitisation are not putting in the stiff opposition to the anomaly.
“The oppositions are just feeble or playing lip service to criticism of CBN Governor and are even letting Nigerians down just like the supposed watchdog and oversight functionary in government, the National Assembly.
“This is a battle for the soul of this nation that should involve all well meaning Nigerians to speak out and with one voice to condemn in totality this transgression,” he said.
Babarinde said that the judiciary must rise, as a strong institution, to this challenge.
According to him, the President cannot remove the CBN governor without recourse to the constitution that requires two third of the senate that can remove him.
“It is within the right of the CBN Governor to contest for Presidency, but that should be after tendering his resignation letter.
“If PMB (President Muhammadu Buhari) is not going to fire Emiefele from office, the National Assembly should be able to do something about it,” he added.
Babarinde said that events unfolding would suggest if the CBN Governor would remain in office as there are calls by the public and some members of the ruling class for the Senate to investigate and remove him from office.
“The Nation is too important for sensitive institutions like the Central Bank of Nigeria to be left to the caprices of individuals with inordinate ambition,” he added.
