The Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA) slammed the Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle, over his recent attack on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele.
Recall that Emefiele had charged President Muhammadu Buhari to cancel the study leave reportedly granted to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The governor criticized Emefiele’s monetary policies, referring to them as a “disastrous naira swap policy” that has caused hardship for Nigerians.
Matawalle emphasized the need for a peaceful transition of power and suggested that Buhari should revoke the leave.
“I want, here and now, 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 Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“One of such person 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,” he said.
Matawalle argued that Emefiele should be held accountable for his actions during his tenure as CBN governor.
Reacting in a statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the group, Aliyu Sani, the youths assembly praised Emefiele over the naira redesign policy, insisting that the decision stopped insecurity, curtailed corruption, and dropped commodity prices immediately.
It said: “People were no longer safe, and bandits hit Zamfara, Kaduna, Minna, and other parts of the country. For this alone, Emefiele should be given a gold medal and celebrated. He helped President Muhammadu Buhari abide by the constitution that states that the security of lives of citizens is paramount.”
Taking a swipe at Governor Matawalle, the assembly said people like the Zamfara state governor rejected the policy because of ‘selfish interest.’
The group said: “In all that Emefiele has done with the blessings of the Commander-in-Chief, his activities have been completely transparent and accountable. The records are there. The world is digital, every naira, every kobo is accounted for, how it comes in and is spent.
“For the record, even if there were requests for study leave, it is legal. The Public Service Rules make ample provision for the training and development of civil servants to enhance the officer’s performance, adding value to the Service, and encourage professionalism in the dispatch of their duties (PSR 100223).”
The assembly wondered why a sitting governor would allow himself to be swayed into believing and acting on a baseless rumour, ‘concocted from the pit of hell,’ that Emefiele had been granted study leave to flee from the country before Bola Tinubu is sworn in.
The youths berated Governor Matawalle for choosing to believe in the lies released to the public by an online medium.
“For Matawalle to swallow every content emanating from the media outfit, it shows that their publications on Zamfara alleging that the Matawalle-led government in Zamfara awarded multi-billion naira contracts in Zamfara without following due process is not far from the truth.
“Instead of him to be afraid of his fate when he leaves office, he is more concerned about the destiny of Mr. Emefiele who is serving Nigerians diligently.
“We wish to challenge Matawalle to make public the number of persons kidnapped in Zamfara state when the naira was not in excessive circulation and the reintroduction of the naira following his pyrrhic victory in court that forced the CBN to recirculate naira notes.
“If he can answer this in public, Nigerians will know who has the solution to the problem of insecurity in the country,” it added.
It said: “Zamfara is one of the poorest states in the world and the poorest in Nigeria. A report by the national social registry stated that Zamfara has the highest number of poor and vulnerable people in Nigeria, with a record of 3,836,484 people from 825,337 households.
“While you couldn’t do anything about the situation of your people, Emefiele was busy working hard, feeding the nation, your people inclusive, boosting the economy by impacting all sectors.”
It listed some of the programmes as; Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, CBN’s Intervention Programmes and Schemes for MSMEs, CBN’s Intervention Programmes and Schemes for Manufacturing, CBN’s Intervention Programmes and Schemes for Export.
The youth reminded President-elect, Tinubu that the North voted for him when the sound of gunshots from bandits went silent, urging him to stay far from the Zamfara state governor.
“Insecurity is the reason why our people rejected the PDP, we saw a workable solution to our number one problem. If he chose to rally obvious failures like Matawalle around him, we will sadly accept that he has failed before his inauguration and nothing good will be expected from his tenure.
“The North has many qualified and respectable persons that will fit into the presidency of Tinubu, Bello Matawalle is not part of them,” the assembly said.
