In the midst of widespread allegations of persecution and bogus victimhood before, and after the 2023 presidential election.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was suspended on Saturday. The leading Igbo sociocultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, criticised the move and referred to President Bola Tinubu’s action as an act of ethnic cleansing. The group disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists by Mazi Chima Uzor, Director of National Interest Matters.
The group said that Emefiele’s suspension did not adhere to the rules of due process and added that the administration’s purposeful efforts to exclude Igbos from public service were the reason behind the decision.
The statement reads, “The Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo Worldwide hereby condemns in its entirety the suspension of Dr Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“To say the least, this suspension is without due process and the arrest despite court order against DSS from arresting him is provocative and well-meaning Nigerians must resist it and ensure that it does not stand.
“We view the development as clearly part of the new administration’s scheme of ethnic cleansing of the Igbos from public offices.
“This is nothing but a witch hunting directed at the Igbos for no other reason other than they dared to oppose the new administration in the last general elections. “We are therefore asking President Bola Tinubu to beware of starting his administration with actions capable of driving an already shaking nation into chaos.
“He should be humble enough to rescind this unpopular decision and allow Dr Emefiele to complete his term as the governor of the apex bank instead of rocking the boat and destroying all the reforms that were carried out by the CBN under Emefiele’s leadership.”
