Politics

SAN Threatens 1,000 Cases Against Emefiele Over APC Form

Published

3 years ago

May 11, 2022

More condemnations on Tuesday trailed the move by the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to contest in the 2023 presidential election on the All Progressives Congress while presiding over the apex bank.

A legal practitioner, Dr. Remi Olatubora (SAN), on Tuesday threatened to galvanise Nigerians and the civil society to institute not less than 1,000 cases against Emefiele, should he go ahead with his 2023 presidential ambition on the platform of the APC.

According to him, he would ensure that in the next 10 years, the CBN governor would be jumping from one court to the other and inundate him with litigation, “the kind that has never happened in the history of legal profession in Nigeria.”

Emefiele had in his clarification said he had not taken the decision to run for the Presidency in 2023.

On Monday, his lawyer, Mike Ozekhome, SAN, filed a suit marked FHC/ABJ/CS/610/2022 challenging the legality of Section 84(12) of the amended Electoral Act and to prevent its application to him (a government appointee) in his aspiration to vie for the APC Presidential ticket.

But Olatubora, a former Commissioner for Education in Ondo State during the administration of Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, in an interview with The PUNCH said Emefiele’s lawyers should be prepared for a lot of job.

He said, “If Emefiele, the governor of CBN who is entrusted with the public finance of Nigeria, who is the custodian of our foreign exchange, who is the chairman of the Bankers Committee could brazenly come out to tell members of the public that he is a member of APC and goes ahead to collect N100 million expression of interest form; if he submits that form, we will ensure that in the next 10 years, he will be jumping from one court to the other.

“We will inundate him with litigation, the kind that has never happened in the history of legal profession in Nigeria.

“He should expect up to 1,000 cases and his lawyers should be prepared for a lot of job. He should expect up to 1,000 cases in different courts by different interests that his coming into politics will infract on their rights and it will be coordinated and we will ensure that in the next 10 years, he will be jumping from one court to the other.”

A former Deputy Governor of the CBN, Prof Kingsley Mogahalu, also took a dim view of Emefiele’s action, describing it as a breach of the CBN Act.

He accused Emefiele of using public office to attain his personal interest, urging Nigerians not to reward such an act.

Mogahalu, who is an aspirant under the African Democratic Congress, spoke while picking up the expression of interest form at the party’s secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday.

He said, “I weep for this nation with the development at the CBN. It is deeply wrong to play politics while in office. It is a violation of ethics, moral and the law. What we are seeing is the privatisation of public office for personal gains.”

“The CBN act is clear; Section (9) states that the CBN governor and his deputy should not engage in other employment of vocation. A vocation is something that could take up your time; it may not be a job, it may not be something you could put your hands on, but something that your have your mind and heart in, apart from your duties.

“For the CBN Governor, his heart and mind is in politics up to the extent of going to a law court to seek support for his ambition. First of all, I want to say Nigerians have no business in rewarding this massive breach of the rule of law because the action of the CBN governor shows a contempt of the rule of law. The individual in question has been monumentally incompetent and Nigerians should not support incompetence.”

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project said it was considering legal options to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission to move election from the custody of the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The group said its action was predicted on the involvement of Emefiele in partisan politics.

Also, the Conference of Nigeria Political Parties has called on the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to sack Emefiele over his involvement in politics.

Speaking during a press briefing held alongside the Coalition of National Civil Society Organizations, the Secretary General of the group, Chief Willy Ezugwu and the National Secretary for the CSOs, Ali Abacha, insisted that Emefiele’s involvement in politics was in clear violation of the Public Service rules and the CBN Act.

The group threatened that it would persuade serving judicial officers to pick up nomination forms from political parties of their choice, should Buhari fail to sack Emefiele.

It stated, “Their intention was to cause a breach of peace as a licence for security agencies to give the protesters the #EndSARS treatment. In this light, the hired hoodlums were to sneak into the crowd of protesters and attack the CBN headquarters with weapons while a counter-protest was also arranged for the same day.

“Our findings revealed that Mr Godwin Emefiele joined the APC and became a card-carrying member of the party in 2019, which proved that the CBN governor’s presidential ambition was premeditated and has been in his plans before 2019 when he eventually joined partisan politics. This is contrary to Mr. Godwin Emefiele’s position that his focus was on his job at the CBN.”

Speaking in an interview with one of our correspondents on Tuesday, SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare, said the continued stay of the materials with the CBN was risky, adding that they must be prevented from unlawful interference.

He said, “Yes, we are considering our legal options to compel INEC to move sensitive election materials in the custody of the CBN, in light of the involvement of CBN Governor in partisan politics.

Meanwhile, the National Youth Council of Nigeria has protested against what it described as the denigration of the CBN Act by Emefiele, whose presidential ambition for the 2023 election has generated a national outcry.

While declaring that the CBN governor has dragged a revered institution of government into partisan politics, the NYCN said it shall consult widely and take appropriate actions.

The President of NYCN, Solomon Adodo, stated these during the launch of the Youth-Run Campaign in Abuja on Tuesday with the theme, ‘Youth rising for a united Nigeria.’

He said, “In the light of the current developments of searching for credible leaders at all levels we herein state the following :

“Our doors are open to all aspirants across all party lines for proper consultation. Aspirants must show their clear plans for the youth and seal a pact of partnership to ensure youth potentials are moved to productivity.”

We’ll await court order to decide Emefiele’s fate, says Presidency

The Presidency on Tuesday said it would wait for the decision of the court before deciding the fate of the CBN governor.

But the Presidency on Tuesday said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), would not sack the CBN chief until the court reached a final decision on the issue on May 12.

Speaking to The PUNCH on Tuesday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, said, “Since this matter is before a judge, we will rather wait for the court to decide.”

Politics

Reps Raise The Alarm Over Terrorists’ Threat To Bomb N’Assembly Complex

Published

1 day ago

October 28, 2025

Editor

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Internal Security, Garba Muhammad, on Tuesday disclosed that the National Assembly has received threats from terrorists to bomb the complex and called for urgent fortification of the edifice as a proactive measure.

Garba disclosed this in Abuja at a public hearing on a bill seeking to establish the Legislative Security Directorate, which seeks to enhance security management, protect the lawmakers, staff members and visitors to the nation’s parliament.

The edifice housing the Senate, the House of Representatives and sundry offices, he said, has been facing security challenges, including cases of car and motorcycle theft, vandalism, fake identity cards, and infiltration by unregistered visitors.

Recall that on May 4, 2021, a similar incident was rumoured when security alert warned lawmakers of a planned Boko Haram attack on the National Assembly complex and other VIP/government locations in Abuja. In response, security measures were intensified, including strict vehicle checks that caused significant congestion at the gates.

Lawmakers were advised to use the less-congested presidential gate for safer access. The alert underscored concerns over Boko Haram’s growing threat, with insurgents reportedly operating as close as Niger State, near the Federal Capital Territory.

Following the alert, the National Assembly limited members’ presence on the premises for safety, and security experts called for stronger federal protection of national infrastructure and assets.

Garba said, “We have received threats from terrorists to bomb the National Assembly Complex and threats from protesters to lock up the National Assembly.

“Legislators are exposed to threats from constituents and others who gain easy access to their offices without any formal appointment.

“It is obvious that with the ongoing security challenges, if proper measures are not taken, it will truncate the legislative activities in the National Assembly. If activities are thwarted, there will be no representation, no oversight, no annual budget, no plenary at all — and that will destabilise legislative procedure, democracy, and the stability of the system, and our nation at large.

The Kano lawmaker noted that robust security management requires a holistic and coordinated approach, integrating multi-layered approaches to secure the National Assembly environment to enable lawmakers to discharge their duties in an atmosphere of peace.

“That is why this bill is important. It seeks to address all the challenges as aforesaid and adopt the world’s best practices of parliamentary security procedures and architecture.

“The need for effective security measures in the National Assembly cannot be overemphasised because parliament has to remain accessible to the public. However, this bill is committed to ensuring the best security architecture in the National Assembly — to protect legislators, staff, visitors, and property,” he said.

He urged State Houses of Assembly to take urgent steps to protect their complexes nationwide.

He called for support among stakeholders to ensure the quick passage of the bill, describing it as a major step toward securing Nigeria’s democratic institutions.

“I wish us a peaceful and fruitful hearing that will ultimately bring a turnaround in the National Assembly’s security architecture,” he said.

Politics

N’Assembly committee Approves New State For S’East

Published

3 days ago

October 26, 2025

Editor

The Joint Committee of the Senate and House of Representatives on Constitution Review has approved the creation of an additional state in the South-East geo-political zone.

According to a statement by the media unit of the committee, the resolution was reached on Saturday at a two-day retreat in Lagos, where it reviewed 55 proposals for state creation across the country.

The session, chaired by the Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, and co-chaired by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, resolved that, in the spirit of fairness and equity, the Federal Government should create another state for the region.

Kalu, who joined other lawmakers to champion additional state creation for the region, argued that a new state would give the people a sense of belonging.

When created, the South-East will be at par with the South-South, South-West, North-Central, and North-East zones, each having six states.

The South-East is the only geo-political zone with five states comprising Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu, and Imo.

The North-West comprises seven states: Kaduna, Kano, Kebbi, Katsina, Zamfara, Sokoto, and Jigawa.

According to the statement, Senator Abdul Ningi (Bauchi Central) moved a motion for the creation of the new state, which was seconded by Ibrahim Isiaka (Ifo/Ewekoro, Ogun State) at the retreat.

“The motion received the unanimous support of committee members and was adopted,” the statement read in part

Similarly, the committee also established a sub-committee to consider the creation of additional states and local government areas across all six geo-political zones, noting that a total of 278 proposals were submitted for review.

Speaking at the event, Jibrin urged members to rally support among their colleagues at the National Assembly and state Houses of Assembly to ensure the resolutions sail through during voting.

“We need to strengthen what we have started so that all parts of the country will key into this process.

“By the time we get to the actual voting, we should already have the buy-in of all stakeholders—from both chambers and the state Houses of Assembly,” the Deputy Senate President was quoted as saying.

Politics

PDP Unveils 13-member Screening Panel For National Convention

Published

4 days ago

October 25, 2025

Editor

According to a statement issued on October 25, 2025, by the National Convention Organising Committee (NCOC) and signed by its Chairman, Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, who is also the Governor of Adamawa State, the screening exercise will take place on Tuesday, October 28, 2025.

The committee will be chaired by Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), a former Ondo State governorship candidate and respected legal luminary.

He will be assisted by Hon. Mohammed L.S. Diri (SAN) as Deputy Chairman, while Mr. Asue Ighodalo, Esq., will serve as Secretary. Jacob Otorkpa was named Deputy Secretary.

Other members of the committee include: Emmanuel Enoidem (SAN), Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Chief Mrs. Aduke Maina, Iyom Josephine Anenih, Achike Udenwa, Haj. Maryam Inna Ciroma, HM. Felix Hassan Hyat, HM. Zainab Maina, and Chinedu Nwachukwu, who will also serve as Administrative Secretary.

The statement noted that the selection reflected the PDP’s commitment to transparency, integrity, and internal democracy in the build-up to its national convention.

“The NCOC notes and expects that the exemplary conduct and strict adherence to rules and regulations during this very crucial assignment will justify the confidence reposed by the Party in members of the Committee,” the statement read.

Fintiri assured party members that the screening process will be conducted with the highest standards of fairness and impartiality, underscoring the PDP’s resolve to strengthen its democratic institutions ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“This exercise is crucial in ensuring that only credible, competent, and loyal members emerge to steer the affairs of our great party,” Fintiri stated.