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| Dr. Godwin Emefiele |
By JOE Hemba
The call and agitation for Central Bank Governor, Dr. Godwin Emefiele to vie for the top job in the country come 2023 is becoming louder across the Nation.
Despite threats by President Mohammadu Buhari to unleash EFCC and the DSS to investigate people behind the printing of presidential posters by his political appointees, the Emefiele's agitators seem to be unruffled as as some of them have lunched a state to state media campaign to sell the CBN Governor's candidacy to Nigerians.
One of the latest calls is coming from a group the Unified Northern Nigeria Youth.
The group while addressing press in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital on Wednesday said the deliberate policies of Mr. Emeiele to bring out millions of Nigerian out of poverty especially in the area of Agriculture has qualified him as the right person to lead Nigeria after President Mohammadu Buhari come 2023.
The group Director General Ibrahim Bature at the press briefing mentioned some of the initiatives of the CBN governor to include; the Real Sector Support Facility, Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme, National Food Security Programme and the Presidential Fertiliser Initiative (PFI).
“Under Dr. Godwin Emefiele's stewardship, CBN also disbursed a total of over N114.09bn to support the fertiliser industry in the last five years. These innovative interventions were long-term loans at concessionary interest rates to support domestic blending and distribution of fertilizer across the country.
“Given the massive funding support received by members of the Fertiliser Producers and Suppliers Association of Nigeria (FEPSAN) from the CBN, Dr. Emefiele announced that the bank is working with majors stakeholders in the industry, such as Dangote and Indorama, to ensure that they sell Urea at discounted prices to the blending plants to ensure that the prices of fertilizer are moderated in the market,” the group explained.
The group also lauded the Anchor Borrowers’s Program of the Bank which Mr, Emefile initiated.
“On CBN's Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP), Dr Godwin Emefiele Stated that the Bank has disbursed N941.26bn to 4.2million smallholder farmers cultivating 21 agricultural commodities on 5.4million hectares of land across the country. He equally added that for the 2021 wet season Programme, a sum of N193.59bn was shared to 923,699 farmers cultivating seven commodities on 1.16 million hectares of land”, the group noted.
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| Supporters at the press briefing in Damaturu |
The group added that; “Due to success attributed to the Anchor Borrowers program, there is currently a balance of stock of fertiliser from the last planting season to the tune of 1.95 million bags despite committing additional 2.6 million bags for use during this year's program”.
The group announced that the intervention of the CBN is already yielding positive result for the country stressing that; “The good policies initiated by Dr. Godwin Emefiele on the Presidential fertilizer initiative recently has led to the establishment of two big fertilizer factories, thus; {i)Barbedos blending plant in Kaduna.
{ii)Dangote Urea plant in Lagos. This success is not only evident in the number of factories commissioned, but also improved productivity as Nigeria is witnessing many pyramids of rice, maize and other crops to follow the trend”.
The group vowed to work hard for the actualization of Mr. Emefiele’s presidential ambition come 2023 as a way of sustaining what they believe President Buhari has started.
“For sustenance and continuity of this revolution, we must work tirelessly to ensure that Dr Godwin Emefiele succeeds President Muhammadu Buhari in the 2023 elections so that we will continue to drive away unemployment, poverty, hence, insecurity with all aggressiveness for peace, progress and prosperity to reign in our land.
“Dear distinguished stakeholders and the entire people of Yobe state, know that, Agriculture remains the major employer of labor mostly for the Northerners and Nigeria at large. It is also on record that no CBN Governor in Nigeria has ever invested so much in agriculture like, Dr. Godwin Ifeanyi-Chukwu Emefiele.
“On the strength of the above, we therefore extend our invitation to you today, to put your voices together with ours and beseech Dr Godwin Emefiele as our only hope of salvation to contest for Nigeria’s President in the forthcoming 2023 elections,” the group said.
ImpactOnlineNigeria observed that the group came into Damaturu just within 48 hours when posters of the CBN governor and Gov. Mai Mala Buni have flooded the city.
Our correspondent observed that the posters have already dotted major locations in the city including the central roundabout which is strategically located at the heart of the town.
The posters which dons CBN Gov. Emefile with his trademark white eye glass in suit with a green neck tie has the caption: “A CALL TO SERVE; Emefiele & Mai Mala Buni 2023”.
If the speculations of the ruling APC’s desire to produce a southern Christian Presidential Candidate and a northern Muslim Vice Presidential candidate is true, then the partnership of Gov. Emefiele and Gov. Mai Mala Buni’s presidency come 2023 may just be in the offing.
Investigation revealed that similar posters of other presidential candidates like Gov. Yahaya Bello of Kogi State and Gov. David Umahi of Ebonyi State have earlier been pasted around the state capital.
Our correspondent also discovered that none of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s presidential posters are seen around the state capital.
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