Governor Bello Matawalle of zamfara state has pleaded with President the outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to halt all study leaves, foreign transfers, and postings of officers critical to the take-off of the incoming administration. the governor made this known in a press statement issued on 15th May 2023.
Last week, he and his family officially moved out of their residence at Aso Rock Presidential Villa into a place called the Glass House, also within the precinct of the Villa. And we witnessed an astonishingly respectable spectacle of First Lady Aisha Buhari taking Senator Oluremi Tinubu, wife of the President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, around the Presidential Villa, their soon-to-be- abode. This shows good faith and commitment to make sure the new regime takes off in a smooth and speedy manner devoid of any encumbrance in the interest of our country.
The President and his wife have acted in a statesmanlike conduct. However, other officers in government have acted differently. They are behaving as if they want to put spanners in the work for the incoming regime. He should frown on any attempt by any person seeking to damage the good job he has done.
Speaking further he urged the President not to approve any study leave or whatever kind of leave for any officer critical to the take-off of the incoming administration of Asíwájú Bola Ahmed Tinubu. One such person that has been speculated in the media to have sought a study leave is Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele. If the leave has been approved, as reported in some media, the governor on President to cancel it in the interest of peaceful transition, accountability and good governance.
Emefiele superintended the management of the country’s financial and monetary systems in the last eight years even before President Buhari assumed power in 2015. He initiated and implemented the recent disastrous Naira swap policy which put Nigerians through untold woes and trauma and set our economy backwards. Two of my brother-governors and I took the Federal Government to court over this ill-advised policy and fought resolutely until we got a respite for our people from Emefiele and company. He now wants to proceed on study leave when he has some 10 months left of his tenure apparently in a bid to evade rendering accounts. He described the attempt to flee in the guise of study leave as unacceptable as he must be made to give full accounts of all that transpired under his watch to the incoming administration and also answer all the questions the new regime may have for him. I’m aware that some officers in the outgoing government are moving to surreptitiously leave the country at this critical time they are needed to answer specific questions. President Muhammadu Buhari should not heed their inordinate and unpatriotic plan.