Beware of Matawalle, Onanugu’s antics about CBN study leave, CSO urges Tinubu
By Tunde Opalana
President- elect, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has been urged not to fall antics of peddlers of falsehood on the status of study leave being proposed for the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Godwin Emefiele.
Civil Society Central Coordinating Council charged Tinubu to beware of recent comment by the outgoing Governor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle as well as that one of Tinubu’s aide, Bayo Onanuga on the purported study leave granted Emefiele by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The CSO described Matawale and Onanuga’s devious attack on Emefiele ,as desperate media propaganda to undermine Tinubu by men with little political value but seeking appointment from his coming administration.
In a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja Thursday morning, the group said it was amazed that the Zamfara Governor relied on Fake News which had been officially debunked by the Presidency to issue a statement against the CBN Governor.
The statement read, “This turn of events made us to conduct a search in the media and we undoubtedly traced the source of the Fake News to Gov. Matawalle of Zamfara State and Br. Bayo Onanuga one of the former Directors in the now dissolved Presidential Campaign of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“While Gov. Matawalle deployed the resources for the planting of the news, Mr. Onanuga deployed his contacts in the media to syndicate the story and make it go viral.”
The group insisted that the Governor deliberately wanted to use the Fake news to salvage his image before the President- elect noting that the people of Zamfara State voted him out of office as the only Governor out of the ten Governors seeking reelection who could not win.
“Governor Matawalle is bitter that the Naira redesign policy of the Central Bank sent the bandits he unleashed on his own people out of business and which gave the people the opportunity to cast their votes and send him packing. For that singular reason, Godwin Emefiele must be destroyed at all cost.
“The people of Zamfara State accused him of complicity in the insecurity and activities of bandits that ravaged Zamfara State and the greater part of neighbouring Katsina and parts of Sokoto. The people also accused him of mismanagement of the financial and mineral resources of the state as well as gross incompetence in handling of state affairs of the State.
“These were the reasons the people of Zamfara State passed their democratic verdict on him and voted him out of office so that he can go and face the law.
Having lost out, Mr. Matawalle now thinks that he can erase the consequences of his financial malfeasance by calling himself a patriotic Nigerian and attempting to hoodwink the President-elect that he loves Nigeria. It is for this purpose that he has targeted Mr. Emefiele as his scapegoat in his failed project to present himself as a good citizen.
The CSO further said , “To our knowledge, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has conducted very comprehensive investigations on Mr. Matawalle and have a water tight case against him with all proof of evidence intact. The property he acquired in the USA, Idu Abuja and all over the country and the world will be recovered from him and returned to the good people of Zamfara State.”
The Civil Society apex body therefore called on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be cautious of the activities of some persons around him.
“It is based on the forgoing that we call on the President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to beware of the antics of Mr. Matawalle, a man who is currently facing the democratic verdict of the people of Zamfara and keep him away from his government. If the Governor really had anything good to contribute to good governance, the people of Zamfara would have renewed his mandate.
“It may not sit well with the sensibilities of Zamfara people that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu would appoint Mr. Matawalle into his cabinet to represent the same Zamfara people who have roundly rejected him.
“Mr. Matawalle and his ally Mr. Bayo Onanuga are on a mission to blackmail the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele so they can feather their nest. They are working on the very erroneous notion that picking on Emefiele would draw them closer to the President-elect.”
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The group also called on the President-elect to particularly note the very divisive and extremist tones of Mr. Bayo Onanuga and decide from now to keep him far away from Government before he sets fire on the Renewed Hope agenda with his unbridled tongue.
They further went ahead to eulogize the Central Bank Governor for his policies and actions as the head of the bank. “Those with accurate information will attest that if not for the dexterity, expertise, finesse, dedication and commitment to service of Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the economy of Nigeria would have been a lot worse than it is today.
“His multi- billion Naira interventions in critical sectors of our economy including agriculture, small and medium scale business, were a booster to the economy in spite of the prevailing circumstances in the country and around the world.
“The peddlers of falsehood should for now leave Emefiele alone to concentrate on how to ensure that the incoming administration of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu takes off seamlessly for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
