Senate President Godswill Akpabio, said on Sunday, that the Bola Tinubu administration inherited an economic mess from former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, and is unsure what charges to bring against him.
At Senator Barinada Mpigi’s Thanksgiving service in Koroma, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State, Akpabio described the economic situation left by Emefiele as “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.
“That 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 President Tinubu removed him from his position as CBN governor last June.
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.
However, the Senate President maintained that the government is working hard to fix the economy and country.
Livinus Osaze
18 February 2024 at 11:48 pm
Can someone tell Akpabio what he meant that hungry Nigerians should be patient with them politicians? Is it the the over inflating of National assembly budget or the N170m SUV vehicle or their unaccounted packages and the wool they pulled over our eyes. For the hardships their deliberate acts have caused Nigerians, woes shall be their lots in the morning and sorrow will be their pillow in the evening.