Reps, CBN Gov Emefiele head for clash over Ikoyigate

It appears the House of Representatives and the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, may be in for a serious rattle over the ongoing investigation into the N13billion the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission uncovered in an apartment at Osborne Towers, Ikoyi, Lagos.

Emefiele has declined, three times, to honour a summon by the House of Representatives to appear before it to testify on the matter.

The House Committee on National Security and Intelligence led by Aminu Sani-Jaji, had thrice invited Emefiele; the suspended director general of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Dr. Ayo Oke; the acting chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu; and the National Security Adviser, Maj.-Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd.) to testify.

But at Wednesday’s meeting of the committee, which was its third sitting, all the invited officials, like in the two previous occasions, shunned the committee.

Emefiele’s case however, irked the lawmakers following a letter he wrote to them explaining why he did not think it was proper for him to honour the invitations.

According to him, it would be in breach of the National Security Agencies Act.

Read also: 2019: 6 reasons Buhari may not win a second tenure

Sani-Jaji, read the letter to the committee. In the letter, Emefiele contended that the Act prohibited the disclosure of security information publicly. He said that the security information was ‘classified information’, which the law barred him from releasing to the public.

Emefiele went further to tell the committee that the panel chaired by Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, had already investigated the cash recovery.

The enraged lawmakers responding lambasted the CBN governor and described him as acting like someone who lacks the capacity to differentiate between a legislature and the executive arm of government.

“This CBN governor doesn’t even know that there is something called separation of powers,” Sani-Jaji said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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