The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said on Sunday that the financial crimes committed against the Nigerian state by the former Governor of the Central Bank, Godwin Emefiele, are so egregious that the Bola Tinubu administration is even unsure of what charges to bring against him.
Akpabio, former governor of Akwa Ibom State and Minister of the Niger Delta said Tinubu inherited an economic mess from the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and blamed Emefiele for the mess.
Speaking at Senator Barinada Mpigi’s Thanksgiving service in Koroma, Tai Local Government Area, Rivers State, Akpabio claimed the economic situation left by Emefiele was “terrible.”
“We did not even know what to charge him with – whether for putting foam on top of the bill, illegal firearm possession, printing notes without income. I don’t know what we are going to charge him with,” Akpabio said.
The Senate President asserted that current economic woes and hunger were due to past policies.
“But what we can say is that yes there is hunger today because of the policies and actions that they took, and we recognise that, and I think every political party should recognise that there is hunger, and we are battling to ensure that Nigerians sleep with their eyes closed,” he stated.
Akpabio assured Nigerians of efforts to improve security and living standards but appealed for patience, arguing decades of rot could not be solved in months.
“Yes, there is insecurity; we are battling to ensure that Nigerians can take three square meals a day. But be rest assured that we campaigned for this job; we campaigned around the country; we will not let you down; we will get to the bottom of it; all we need is your patience.
“The rots that have happened in Nigeria for so many years for almost 60 years—cannot be solved in six months,” he emphasised.
Emefiele is facing accusations from the Federal Government related to financial crimes after Tinubu removed him from his position as CBN governor in June 2023.
The criminal charges against the former governor of CBN were revised by the Federal Government on January 18.
The six counts were expanded to 20 counts.
Emefiele was accused of criminal breach of trust, forgery, conspiracy to conduct forgery, procurement fraud, and conspiracy to commit a felony in the amendment.
