Friday brief: Where is Godwin Emefiele? - Working remotely?
+ Immigration commences recruitment exercise
Good morning.
There’s an abundance of speculation about the whereabouts of the nation’s top banker. And the Nigerian Immigration Service is now recruiting for the year.
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Where is Godwin Emefiele?
The unavailability of the central bank governor first became conspicuous when he twice failed to appear before the House of Representatives.
The lawmakers had summoned him in December to explain why the central bank hurriedly announced a redesign of the naira and cash withdrawal limits, policies that could have serious consequences on the economy.
He was originally scheduled to appear on December 15 but the central bank wrote the lawmakers saying Emefiele was out of the country on official duties. At the rescheduled date of December 20, the central bank said the same thing - still out of the country, folks - angering the lawmakers.
Femi Gbajamiamila, speaker of the house, said the invitation should be rescheduled while wondering why the governor was out of the country for over two weeks “at this critical time”.
“At this point, we will be requesting to find out what that official assignment is that keeps the CBN governor away for almost two weeks,” he said.
Emefiele was eventually represented by Aisha Ahmad, one of his deputies.
Meanwhile, the nation’s secret police, the DSS, had suddenly developed a hard-on for Emefiele and were in court seeking an arrest warrant on charges of terrorism financing and economic crimes. The court rejected the application but there were reports Emefiele remained wary of appearing in public for fear of arrest. Peoples Gazette even reported that the governor was considering applying for asylum in the UK or US.
On Thursday, TheCable reported that Emefiele will return to the country next week after the expiration of his leave.
According to insiders in the presidency, Emefiele went on leave before Christmas with the knowledge of President Muhammadu Buhari. The leave, apparently, ends on January 17.
What else is happening?
INEC: Bowing to pressure, the electoral body extended the deadline for the collection of permanent voter cards by eight days until January 29.
Insecurity: Gunmen killed four vigilantes and set five buildings ablaze when they stormed Ihiala local government secretariat in Anambra state. The police said it engaged the gunmen in a gun battle and killed one of the criminals.
Doyin Okupe: The Labour Party chieftain was arrested by operatives of the Department of State Services at the Murtala Mohammed International Airport. He was handed over to the EFCC but was later released. The EFCC said the arrest had been based on a watch-list request issued in July 2016. “I just left the EFCC office where Snr Officers in Lagos & Abuja apologised to me for the error. OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARD abi?” Mr Okupe tweeted after his release.
Justice: Omolola Olajide, the police corporal who was sacked after getting pregnant as an unmarried woman, has been awarded up to N5 million as compensation by a court in Akure. The court ruled that a rule banning unmarried female officers from getting pregnant was discriminatory as it did not apply to male officers.
Apply: The Nigerian Immigration Services (NIS) has opened its portal for the 2023/2024 recruitment exercise. Of course, you need to prove you are a Nigerian citizen to be eligible.
Peter Obi: The presidential front runner returned to his alma mater and urged the audience to vote for a healthy candidate. “This country is sick and should not be handed over to a sick person. I am not saying that anyone is sick. We have been here for over two hours; we don’t want people who can’t stand for 30 minutes,” Obi said.
Muhammadu Buhari: The president received the ambassadors of Switzerland, Sweden, Republic of Ireland, the Kingdom of Thailand, the Republic of Senegal and the Republic of South Sudan at the state house in Abuja. He warned them not to meddle in the 2023 elections.
And that’s it for the week. Thank you for coming along on the ride.