February 20, (THEWILL) – A civil society group, the Accountability Initiative (AI), has berated Senate President Godswill Akpabio for blaming former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for the current economic hardship in the country.
Speaking during a thanksgiving service by Senator Barinada Mpigi in Koroma, Tai Local Government Area of Rivers State on Sunday, Akpabio had said the current administration led by President Bola Tinubu met the Nigerian economy in a mess, which he claimed was caused by policies carried out by Emefiele.
“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 a 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 do 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,” Akpabio said.
But reacting to Akpabio’s remarks, AI, in a statement signed by its convener, Mallam Abubakar Yusuf, described Akpabio’s utterance as that of a “Kettle Calling Pot Black”, noting that the former Akwa Ibom governor, who allegedly looted the state’s funds, should be behind the bars and not occupying the number 3 seat of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The group said, “We received with shock the comments attributed to Akpabio, attributing the current economic hardship and hunger in Nigeria to the actions and policies implemented during Emefiele’s tenure at the apex bank. It’s shocking and at the same time funny that Akpabio, who has cases before the anti-graft, would have the audacity to turn around and blame others for the nation’s misfortune, which he is an architect of.
“We just want to let Nigerians know that as recent as April last year, it was widely reported in the media that the EFCC invited Akpabio for interrogation over an investigation concerning corruption allegations against him.
“There were allegations of a N40 billion fraud perpetrated in the Niger Delta Development Commission, a parastatal under the ministry superintended by Akpabio for three years. Also, there were allegations of over N86 billion contract scams involving him and a former Acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, which the EFCC had been investigating. The anti-graft agency had, in the past, arrested Akpabio over the alleged theft of N108.1 billion of Akwa Ibom funds.
“The EFCC had earlier invited Akpabio to appear for questioning on March 29, 2023, but his lawyer, Umeh Kalu, SAN, in a letter to the anti-graft agency, alleged that his client was suffering from pneumonia and cardiac arrhythmia. With the above, any discerning mind would know that Akpabio deserves to be charged with fraud and other crimes, not Emefiele.”
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