The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, resumed official duties yesterday after observing his annual leave amidst speculations that he was being haunted by the Department of State Service (DSS).
Emefiele, who went on leave before Christmas, has been in the news as it emerged that the DSS tried to arrest him in December 2022.
A release by the CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, stated that the governor returned to Nigeria in the early hours of Monday and immediately resumed at his office in Abuja.
“The governor resumed with renewed vigour to perform his duty ahead of the first Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the year scheduled for January 23 to 24, 2023,” he said.
Emefiele was part of President Muhammadu Buhari’s entourage to the US-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington DC between December 13 and 15, 2022.
While Buhari returned to Abuja a day after the summit, the CBN governor delayed his return to Nigeria.
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Some photos were posted on some social media and the websites of some legacy media alluding that after getting a hint that Emefiele was back, operatives of the DSS invaded the floor housing his office at the CBN headquarters in Abuja.
The DSS had since dismissed the claim even as some insiders said the state security operatives were indeed at the CBN were they took away some documents.
However, this could not be independently verified by this newspaper.
Why Emefiele’s return generated public interest
Recall that the DSS had approached a Federal High Court in Abuja in December 2022, seeking a warrant to arrest Emefiele over allegations that he was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.
In declining the motion ex parte – usually filed by an applicant in the absence of the respondent – Justice J. T. Tsoho, the chief judge, said the secret police did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims.
Shortly after, a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, in Garki Abuja, held that the continued harassment of the CBN governor over “trumped up allegations of terrorism and sundry offenses is illegal and constitutes a breach of his fundamental human rights.”
In an application filed against the DSS, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the CBN by Incorporated Trustees of Forum for Accountability and Good Leadership, one Kenneth Amaechi filed a motion ex-parte No GARM/92/2022 on December 19, for the court to restrain the respondents, whether by themselves, agents, servants, privies or acting through any person from inviting, arresting or detaining Emefiele.
Emefiele has been in the news since the time he joined the race for the presidency on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with some people asking him to resign from the apex bank.
The introduction of new naira notes also attracted backlash for the CBN governor in certain quarters.
‘DSS’s attempt to pick up Emefiele’
Not long after the news of his return filtered, Daily Trust gathered that there were stories that the DSS might have made another attempt to arrest the CBN governor.
This paper further gathered that the CBN governor resumed his office with “military” protection.
A source at the CBN said the engagement of the military operative was to prevent an ambush by the DSS despite existing court orders preventing his arrest.
This claim could also not be independently verified.
However, the DSS dismissed reports that it invaded the headquarters of the CBN in Abuja.
In a statement, the secret police through its spokesman, Peter Afunanya, described the reports as ‘fake news’.
“The attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) has been drawn to the false news making the rounds that its operatives invaded the Central Bank of Nigeria and arrested its governor, today 16/1/23. This is fake news and quite misleading.”
Implication of problem to economy – Analysts
Analysts have argued that all the suspense and hype around Emefiele is happening against the background of some knotty general economic issues that call for all hands to be on the deck at the central bank.
While some analysts posited that if Emefiele was removed there will be no impact on the economy, others warn that his removal, especially the way it is being handled, could have some negative impact.
One of the analysts who prefers anonymity said: “If we run an economy in which we can pretend that it does not matter what happens to the head of the central bank at any point in time, then something is wrong.
“In a normal economy, the uncertainty surrounding Emefiele is enough to impact negatively some economic variables, especially the exchange rate.”
He argued that the position of a central bank governor is an important one in any economy.
“On the day Sanusi was suspended by Jonathan, the naira fell and continued its fall the following day. Even the stock market was not spared, as the All-Share Index tumbled 1.5 per cent to 38,816.19 points, as investors retreated.
“It continued its fall the following day, losing another 1.3 per cent.”
Also reacting to the development, lawyer and managing partner, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN & Co., Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa said: “We should not and cannot elevate a public officer above the law and above probe if there is indeed a case for him to answer.”
He said the DSS sought court order to arrest and investigate him unsuccessfully, and the service was greatly embarrassed through the process.
“Then there are court orders to stop arrest and prosecution. It is better to make everything plain and open to the Nigerian people. Nobody should be above the law.
“The various crises surrounding the CBN governor do not speak well for the nation’s economy.”
He said there should be no undue persecution or arrest of any citizen without lawful cause or justification but no one should be shielded from the probe.
“The DSS does not require the arrest of a citizen in order to file a charge in court if there is truly an allegation. The issues of alleged stamp duty and alleged sponsorship of terrorism are documentary.
“The charge once filed, will in itself speak to compel the attendance of the defendant. There is therefore no need for the seemingly unending drama between Mr Emefiele, the DSS and the Presidency unless of course, it is part of the hidden agenda.”
MPC topmost on Emefiele’s agenda
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting is scheduled to meet on the 23 and 24 of this month (Monday and Tuesday of next week) for the first time this year. The governor is the chairman of the MPC.
There are key decisions to be taken by the committee, including those on issues bordering on the interest rate, the redesign of the naira and other sundry issues ahead of the 2023 elections.
In line with the trend around the globe, many analysts expect the committee to raise the Monetary Policy Rate to at least 17.5 per cent this month. The committee raised that rate to 16.5 per cent at its last meeting in November 2022.
After 11 months’ rise, inflation marginally dropped to 21.34% in December
Nigeria’s headline inflation dropped to 21.34 per cent in December from the 21.47 per cent recorded in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed.
The NBS, in its monthly inflation report released on Monday, stated that prices of commodities in the country dropped by 0.13 per cent base point.
This drop is against predictions by experts with December known for the frenzy purchase of goods that are used to celebrate the Christmas and New Year festivities.
Daily Trust reports that Nigeria’s headline inflation has been on a consecutive rise since January 2022.
However, the report stated that on a year-on-year basis, the headline inflation rate was 5.72 per cent points higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2021, which was 15.63 per cent.
“This shows that the headline inflation rate increased in December 2022 when compared to the same month in the preceding year.”
Similarly, it stated that on a month-on-month basis, the percentage change in the All-Items Index in December 2022 was 1.71 per cent, which was 0.32 per cent higher than the rate recorded in November 2022 (1.39 per cent).
“This means that in the month of December 2022, the general price level was 0.32 per cent higher relative to November 2022.
“The percentage change in the average CPI for the 12 months ending December 2022 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12 months period was 18.85 per cent, showing 1.89 per cent increase compared to the 16.95 per cent recorded in December 2021.”
It stated that the reason for the monthly rise was the demand usually experienced during the festive season and an increase in the cost of production
Meanwhile, the food inflation rate increased to 23.75 per cent on a year-on-year basis; which was 6.38 per cent higher compared to the rate recorded in December 2021 (17.37 per cent).
It stated that the rise was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, oil and fat, potatoes, yam and other tubers, fish and food products.
Also, the average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months ending December 2022 when compared to the previous year was 20.94 per cent, which was 0.53 per cent point increase.
For All items less farm produce or Core inflation, it rose to 18.49 per cent on a year-on-year basis, a 4.62 per cent rise when compared to the 13.87 per cent recorded in December 2021.
“The highest increases were recorded in prices of gas, liquid fuel, passenger transport by air, vehicles spare parts, fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment, solid fuel among others.
“The average 12-month annual inflation rate was 16.08 per cent for the 12 months ending December 2022; this was 2.91 per cent points higher than the 13.16 per cent recorded in December 2021,” NBS said in the report.
By Sunday M. Ogwu, Vincent Nwanma, Faruk Shuaibu & Shimnom Clement
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