Emefiele who said over the weekend that he is still waiting on God confirmed his bid by going to court to seek judicial protection. It is not yet clear if he has finally heard from God.
By Emma Ogbuehi
The hide and seek game by the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over his presidential ambition even when a purported group of farmers bought the Expression of Interest and Nomination dorms for him at a whopping fee of N100 million may have ended on Monday as the man in the eye of the storm finally confirmed his interest in the fray.
By so doing, Emefiele effectively put an end to uncertainties about his bid.
Emefiele who said over the weekend that he is still waiting on God confirmed his bid by going to court to seek judicial protection. It is not yet clear if he has finally heard from God.
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But in a suit he filed at the Federal High Court in Abuja through Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), he is praying for a declaration that he is not bound to resign as CBN helmsman as demanded by many to participate in a primary election to select a presidential candidate.
The CBN Governor is the sole plaintiff in the suit, with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation as respondents.
Emefiele is praying the court to determine whether Section 84(12) of the Electoral Act 2022 is not inconsistent with Section 137 (1)(G) of the 1999 Constitution.
Part of the grounds of the application reads: “That the plaintiff has aspiration to seek election to the Office of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and participate as a candidate in the upcoming 2023 elections.
“That section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022 provides that: ‘No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the Convention or Congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election’.
“That the plaintiff verily believes that he is not affected by these provisions, as he is not a political appointee as envisaged by the above provisions of section 84(12) of the Electoral Act, 2022.
“That the Central Bank of Nigeria is entirely (100 per cent) owned by the Nigerian Federal Government, and therefore constitutes a government agency with the meaning and intendment of Section 318 of 1999 Constitution.”