Godwin Emefiele, ousted governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has asked Senate President Godswill Akpabio to apologise and pay him the sum of N1 billion for allegedly defaming him or be sued.
Mr Akpabio recently alleged that economic mess of Mr Emefiele at the apex bank were too numerous, leaving the federal government confused on which to charge him with.
“So, the kind of debt and economic mess that we are in, a lot of people will not understand but I remember President Obama saying that you cannot know Washington until you get to Washington,” the top lawmaker said during a thanksgiving service by Senator Barinada Mpigi in Koroma, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday. “So, by the time we went in to look at the economic situation of the country, it was terrible.
“You know that the former governor of the central bank, we did not even know what to charge him with. Whether to charge him for putting foam on top of the bill or to charge him for illegal possession of firearm or to charge him for printing notes without income, I don’t know what we are going to charge him with.
“But what we can 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.”
In a notice from his lawyer, Matthew Burkaa, the former CBN governor alleged that the remarks of the Senate President was “false, distorted and clearly aimed at disparaging his character and indeed made in bad faith”.
Mr Burkaa in the notice dated February 19, 2024, said contrary to Akpabio’s claim, the Federal Government had since August 14, 2023 preferred charges against Emefiele and his client had pleaded not guilty of the said allegations.
“Your statement attributing the present economic woes of the country solely on Our Client is most appalling and exposes the inaccuracies in Your assertions, especially, as you were a major player in the immediate Past Administration and worked closely with Our Client and indeed witnessed the innovations he introduced in the banking sector and its impact on the economy whilst in office, as well as the role he played despite all odds in salvaging Nigeria in the P & ID Saga and the positive result it brought for Nigeria,” the notice read.
“You are also aware that no single policy was carried out by Our Client without the approval, directive or authorization of the President and/or the Federal Executive Council of which you were a key and powerful member.
“These baseless and false allegations clearly defames the character of Our Client and has also caused him great pains and embarrassment as it has lowered his esteem before the right thinking members of the Society in addition to the obvious odium and opprobrium from the unsuspecting members of the Society as a result of the falsity contained in that statement.
“We therefore have Our Client’s further instruction to demand from you an unreserved apology in writing, published and circulated by the same medium with which you have defamed his character and the sum of One Billion Naira (N1,000,000,000) as reasonable compensation for the willful and unjustifiable denigration of his hard earned reputation.
“In the event that you fail, refuse or neglect to comply with this legitimate demand, Our Client will be at liberty to seek the appropriate redress available to him under the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
