Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, purchased the Nomination and Expression of Interest forms to vie for the Presidential ticket of the All Progressives Congress in 2023, THE WITNESS reports.
Sources at the APC Secretariat confirmed that Emefiele’s payment of N100 million for the nomination and expression of interest forms was confirmed by the Finance Department of the party after which the form was released to him this morning, Friday May 6, 2022.
The form was picked on behalf of the CBN governor around 11: 15 A.M.
Emefiele’s decision to run for the office of the president in 2023 follows months of speculations regarding political aspirations of the Agbor, Delta State-born former Managing Director of Zenith Bank.
Emefiele had, in response to the move to vie for Nigeria’s number one office, asked speculators not to draw him in, as he would rather focus on fixing Nigeria’s monetary policies and aligning them with Federal Government’s fiscal policies.
Not minding his position on the matter, speculations have been rife that Nigeria’s number one banker is brought primed by some political interest to run for the office, an offer he has found difficult to resist.
Emefiele is still the CBN governor and it is not certain yet whether he would resign before the APC presidential primary or not as other appointees of President Muhammadu Buhari who have declared interest in the presidency are still in the government.
The CBN governor has ended weeks of speculation on whether or not he would join the 2023 presidential race.
Appointed in 2014, Emefiele, who hails from Delta State, was reappointed in 2019 for the second term of five years by President Muhammadu Buhari. The second tenure of the Delta-born economist will lapse in 2024.
More to come …