Leaders of thoughts, elder statesmen from four of the six geo-political zones of the country, under the aegis of Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum, SMBLF led by South-South Leader, Chief Edwin Clark, Monday asked President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately sack the Director- General of the Department of State Services, DSS, Yusuf Magaji Bichi for being disloyal and discourteous to the President and the nation.
The Leaders have also said that Bichi should be made to render an unreserved public apology to the nation and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
The SMBLF has also urged President Buhari to as a matter of urgency, put his house in order and stop embarrassing Nigerians and Nigeria.
According to the leaders, it has become very imperative for President Buhari to save the Country nation from what they described as repeated, unwarranted national embarrassments.
In a statement signed in Abuja by Chief Edwin Kiagbodo Clark, Leader, South South/PANDEF; Chief Ayo Adebanjo, Leader, Afenifere; Dr. Pogu Bitrus, President, Middle Belt Forum and Ambassador Okey Emuchay, MFR Secretary-General, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Worldwide, the SMBLF said that the call became necessary following the reported recent attempt by the Department of State Services (DSS) to obtain an ex-parte order from the Federal High Court, Abuja, to arrest and detain the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.
The SMBLF noted that the action of the Department of State Services was not only a travesty of the nation’s judiciary, but also a grave disservice to the Nigerian state, and a mortification of the nation’s image.
The leaders hailed the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Abuja, Justice John Tsoho who in his ruling on 9th December 2022, rejected the application on the grounds that the DSS failed to provide sufficient evidence to warrant the issuance of an arrest warrant against Emefiele.
The Leaders said, “SMBLF demands that he should be relieved of his position, without any delay, for being disloyal and discourteous to the President and the nation. Mr. Yusuf Magaji Bichi should also be made to render an unreserved public apology to the nation and to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele.
“We are not in the least surprised at the way and manner Mr. Yusuf Bichi has been running the DSS since he assumed that office; his appointment as Director General of the DSS itself, in the first place, leaves much to be desired.
“President Muhammadu Buhari, not minding that appointments in the top hierarchy of the Military, Paramilitary, Security and Intelligence related agencies were already skewed and grossly lopsided in favour of the North, went ahead to, on 18th September 2018, appoint Yusuf Magaji Bichi, from Kano State, who had retired from the service, to replace Mr. Matthew Seiyefa, from Bayelsa State, who was appointed as Acting Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS), on 7th August 2018, by Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, then Acting President, following the sack of Lawal Musa Daura.
“Truth be told, there are elements within, and outside, the Buhari administration that do not want Mr. Godwin Emefiele to remain in office, as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria; the reasons are not farfetched. Recall that barely forty-eight hours after the announcement of the redesign of the country’s currency by the CBN, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Hajia Zainab Ahmed, disowned the Policy.
“She went on to assert that the redesigning, which the apex bank said is aimed at fighting banditry and kidnapping for ransom, controlling the amount of money in circulation, fighting inflation and addressing issues of corruption and hoarding of naira notes by individuals, if implemented, would portend great consequences for the Country and its economy. Similar disagreeable remarks were made by other top officials, with outrageous postulations and disparaging commentaries also peddled to discredit the person and Office of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
“While SMBLF acknowledges that the Policy of the CBN to peg maximum daily withdrawals via Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and Point Of Sale (PoS), terminals at N20,000 and N100,000 by individuals and corporate entities respectively, which has now been reviewed upwards, may have been rather harsh, it is instructive to note that the issues could have been resolved quietly, without the noisome hullabaloo, and without laying the Country open to international ridicule.
“More importantly, SMBLF, calls for a thorough investigation of incident, even a Public Inquiry, to unveil the officials, and, others behind the disgraceful and subversive plot, with appropriate sanctions duly meted out. This is a very sensitive matter, and Government must give it the serious attention, it deserves. This misadventure has further brought to the fore the disturbing gaps and discordance in the Buhari Administration, which account for the many Policy conflicts and misdirection in the governance ofvthe Country.
“SMBLF, therefore, further urges Mr. President to put his “house” in order, and save the Country from recurring catastrophic haemorrhage. SMBLF recalls that it was in comparable manners that the former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Walter Onnoghen, and several other top public office holders from the Southern and Middle Belt Regions of the Country, have been scandalously removed from office.
“It is imperative to underscore the fact that SMBLF, as a responsible organization, comprising prominent statesmen, who have served, and still serving, and contributing immensely to the betterment of our dear Country, Nigeria, will not stand idly by, where any venal act, at any level, against any citizen, or section. SMBLFA maintains that it is unfair that people would be so casually harassed, brutalised and brazenly persecuted, merely because of their ethnicity, or religion, or for serving their Fatherland diligently, meritoriously.
“While we appreciate that the Military, the Police and other Security and Intelligence Agencies, including the DSS, have constitutional duties and roles to perform, for the Country, her Citizens, and the President and Commander-in-Chief, it is imperative to caution that such duties should be carried out dispassionately and professionally, with acceptable deference to the rule of law.
“We cannot continue to run Nigeria like a Banana Republic, or a private Estate of some individuals, or groups. We warn that, if anything untoward should happen to Mr. Emefiele Godwin, there shall be severe consequences. This country belongs to all of us. Enough is Enough!”
