The attention of Arewa Youth Assembly has been drawn to a press statement attributed to the out-goingGovernor of Zamfara State, Bello Matawalle.
He was quoted as saying: “If President Muhammadu Buhari has approved study leave for the CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele as reported in the media, the President should cancel it in the interest of peaceful transfer of power, accountability, and good governance.”
In a press statement signed by the Publicity Secretary of the Arewa Youth Assembly, Alhaji Aliyu Sani, the group said, “We find it embarrassing that a sitting governor will allow himself to be swayed into believing and acting on a baseless rumour, concocted from the pit of hell, that Mr. Godwin Emefiele has been granted study leave to flee from the country before Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is sworn in.”
“The Office of the President, through one of its Spokespersons, Mallam Garba Shehu has denied the existence of the imaginary study leave. When he was asked to react to the trending news he responded as follows: “If the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been granted study leave supposedly by President Muhammadu Buhari, this is unknown to us. It is also unknown to the president’s secretariat headed by the Chief of Staff.”
The group remarked that, “Despite this official position by the Presidency, Matawalle decided to believe in the lies released to the public by Sahara Reporters,” adding that, “For Matawalle to swallow every content emanating from the media outfit, it shows that their publications on Zamfara alleging that the Matawalle-led government in Zamfara awarded multi Billion Naira Contracts in Zamfara without following due process wasnot far from the truth.”
The statement said instead of the Governor to be afraid of his fate when he leaves office, he is more concerned about the destiny of Mr. Emefiele who is serving Nigerians diligently.
“We wish to challenge Matawalle to make public the number of persons kidnapped in Zamfara State when the Naira was not in excessive circulation and the reintroduction of the Naira following his pyrrhic victory in Court that forced the CBN to recirculate Naira notes. If he can answer this in public, Nigerians will know who has the solution to the problem of insecurity in the country,” the statement said.
“The Governor that has failed his people and the North in terms of security, education, economy and infrastructural development ought not to be heard discussing the national issue. We are in a country where shameless people are the leaders, they wouldn’t mind exporting their show of shame to the global stage. otherwise, how can a man under whose watch over 200 people were killed in 2022 in just two days, with thousands abducted daily. The same state recorded 703 deaths according to The Cable Index which is the highest in the country, still dares to attack another public servant with an unblemished record.”
The statement added that, “As a governor, you have failed to guarantee the right to life provided for in the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria (as amended) in Section 33 of the1999 constitution as amended, which clearly states that every person has a right to life and Article 3 of the Universal Declaration on Human Right that states everyone has a right to life, liberty, and security.”
“Your failure to provide security in the state has halted educational activities, with the closure of schools. At least 75 secondary schools in the state are still shut because of security, tagging the state as an educationally backward state. Zamfara state has a total of 61.4% of children out of school, with boys at 57.4% and girls at 66%.
“Zamfara is one of the poorest states in the world and the poorest in Nigeria. A report by the National Social Registry stated that Zamfara has the highest number of poor and vulnerable people in Nigeria, with a record of 3,836,484 people from 825,337 households.
“While you couldn’t do anything about the situation of your people, Emefiele was busy working hard, feeding the nation, your people inclusive, boosting the economy by impacting all sectors through various programs Viza viz; Anchor Borrowers’ Programme, Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, CBN’s Intervention Programmes and Schemes for MSMEs, CBN’s Intervention Programmes and Schemes for Manufacturing, CBN’s Intervention Programmes and Schemes for Export.
“This has helped in increasing revenue generation outside crude oil, thus helping this administration to actualize its diversification agenda, creation of employment, alleviating poverty, and recreating Nigeria’s image before the world. So yes, President Buhari has had an eventful tenure, and so does Dr. Godwin Emefiele President Buhari’s tenure is eventful because he has people like Emefiele,” the statement said.
The youths also noted that the, “Only person seeking to damage the good work President Buhari has done is you, that’s why your people voted for APC in the presidential election but never hesitated to vote you out, because you have failed them. This justifies why you were never voted in the first place.”
The Arewa youths advised Matawalle to lick his wounds and grief alone, do not drag others into his world of shame, while you were busy spending Zamfara people’s money on irrelevant things, Emefiele was busy on Naira redesign, a policy that had the power to stop insecurity, curtailed corruption, and drop the prices of commodity immediately. Conversely, the problems came back in full immediately after cash started flowing, people were no longer safe, and Bandits hit Zamfara, Kaduna, Minna, and other parts of the country.
For this alone, Emefiele should be given a gold medal and celebrated, for he helped President Buhari abide by the constitution that states the security and lives of citizens are paramount.
The policy was only rejected by people like you because of selfish interest, because of public wealth you have a mass and were looking for a way to hide it.
All that Emefiele has done with the blessings of the commander in chief, his activities have been completely transparent and accountable, the records are there, the world is digital, every naira, every kobo is accounted for how it comes in and how it is spent.
For the record, even if there were requests for study leave, it is legal. The Public Service Rules make ample provision for the training and development of Civil Servants, to enhance the officer’s performance, adding value to the Service, and encourage professionalism in the dispatch of their duties (PSR 100223, PSR 100224, PSR 100225, PSR 100226)
The statement said, “Study leaves are approved to allow an employee to complete an accredited course of study provided by an overseas educational institution. Study leaves are legal and have been granted before in Nigeria and even in superpower countries of the world. An individual has the right to seek study leave in any part of the world.”
It is obvious Governor Matawalle is the one suffering from trauma and shock from the election he lost, instead of grieving in silence alone, he chose to take a last dance of shame by ranting under speculations of the media he has not confirmed to be true or otherwise.
The Youth Assembly also remarked that, “We wish to call on Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu to note that, the North voted for him when the sound of gunshots from bandits went silent as a result of the Naira redesigned Policy introduced by the CBN. Insecurity is the reason why our people rejected the PDP, we saw a workable solution to our number one problem. If he chose to rally obvious failures like Matawalle around him, we will sadly accept that he has failed before his inauguration and nothing good will be expected from his tenure. The North has many qualified and respectable persons that will fit into the Presidency of Tinubu, Bellow Matawalle is not part of them.”
