Former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) and Governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu has frowned at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele over purchase of presidential nomination forms while in office.

He called on the CBN Governor to resign over his move to join the 2023 presidential race.

Governor Akeredolu spoke hours after a group of supporters purchased the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential nomination forms for Emefiele.

In a statement on Friday night, Akeredolu argued that Emefiele cannot combine his current job as CBN Governor with partisan politics.

“Consequently, we admonish Mr Emefiele to leave the office, immediately, for him to pursue his interest,” Akeredolu said.

“He cannot combine partisan politics with the very delicate assignment of his office. Should he refuse to quit, it becomes incumbent on the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces to remove him forthwith.”

The governor said before the purchase of the form, Emefiele had been linked with partisan politics. The CBN Governor Emefiele had denied the speculations, insisting that he was focused on his work at the CBN.

“Pictures of branded vehicles, ostensibly purchased for electioneering campaigns, were also posted on social media,” the statement read.

“The audacious moves by those who claimed to be supporting this interest have been unsettling.”

He said while the CBN governor is constitutionally qualified to belong to any group, Emefiele’s position makes the recent move “brazen”.

“There is no gain asserting the obvious. The combined effect of the Public Service Rules, CBN Act, and the 1999 Constitution, as amended, exposes not only the oddity inherent in this brash exercise of presumed right to associate,” the governor added.

“It also confirms the illegality of the act should he proceed to submit the forms while occupying the seat as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

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