The Federal Government has reacted to the appeal by the Zamfara State Governor, Bello Matawalle asking President Muhammadu Buhari not to grant any leave to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and other top government officials.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday, said what the governor expressed was his personal opinion which he has right to.
“The governor has the right to make suggestions; that is his own opinion,” the minister to journalists who asked for his comment on the matter.
In a letter earlier addressed to the President, Matawalle said any officer critical to the take-off of the incoming administration of Bola Tinubu should not be granted any leave.
The Zamfara governor accused the CBN governor of superintending over the mismanagement of the country’s financial and monetary systems. He insisted that the CBN governor must stay to give an account of everything that happened under him to the incoming administration.
“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,” Matawalle said.