CBN’s Godwin Emefiele Gets Buhari’s Support Amid Faceoff With DSS

President Muhammadu Buhari and the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, met on Thursday at the State House, Abuja.

Emefiele met President Buhari during a delegation visit of the Arab Bank for Economic Development led by its Director General, Sidi Ould Tah. 

The President said he was grateful that Emefiele was well received: “You are welcome back. I am grateful that you are well received.” 

Others at the meeting include Chief of Staff, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Geoffrey Onyeama, Borno State Governor, and Prof Babagana Zulum. 

Also present are the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed and the Arab Bank team, as well as BADEA Director General, Dr Sidi Ould Tah. 

It was gathered that the Nigerian Ambassador to Sudan, H.E Safiu Olamiyan, Director of Operations, Public Sector, Mr Diab Karrar Ahmed Karrar, BDS Operations Department, Yousif Awad Ahmed and Assistant Director (GIU), Mr Mustapha Jimoh were among those at the meeting. 

Emefiele and President Buhari meet twice within a day, first with the delegation, then another meeting without the delegation on Thursday evening. 

Their meeting comes amid an investigation into Emefiele by the Department of State Services (DSS). The secret police alleged that Emefiele is involved in corrupt activities, as well as terrorism financing. 

The DSS had tried to arrest Emefiele, requesting a court-sanctioned warrant, however, the court declined to approve the request, ordering the security operatives to stop harassing the CBN governor.

Weeks after the court judgement in December 2022, there were claims on Monday that the DSS had stormed Emefiele’s office and arrested him after resuming from a month’s leave, however, the secret police denied the reports. 

Also, Emefiele is facing a court case over a $53 million debt judgement filed by Joe Agi, against the central bank and others.