With growing speculations about his interest in the 2023 presidential race, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has declared that God will determine his future.

Emefiele stated that since God anoints leaders, he will leave his fate firmly in the hands of God.

The CBN Governor made his position known when he met some of his friends styled ‘Friends of Governor Emefiele’.

In a document made available to The Star titled “STATEMENT BY FRIENDS OF GOVERNOR EMEFIELE,” the CBN Governor’s friends confirmed that Emefiele is constitutionally qualified to run for the Presidency and has been under pressure in the past few weeks from different groups to indicate interest in the 2023 Presidency.

The self-styled ‘Friends of Godwin Emefiele’ said they met with the CBN Governor on Sunday/Monday to clarify issues around the presidential interest.

Emefiele reportedly told his friends:

*That he remains focused on his job and will continue supporting the Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal government’s economic recovery drive;

*That in his career trajectory, right from his days as a young banker, he never asked, nor lobbied for a job. He was invited by the Board of Directors to be the Chief Executive Officer/Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank as he was an integral part of the team, led by founder Jim Ovia, that transformed Zenith Bank from a start-up to one of Africa’s largest banks with subsidiaries in Ghana, Sierra Leone, Gambia, South Africa, Dubai, China and the United Kingdom;

*In 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan tapped him to be the CBN Governor, a job he didn’t lobby for and in which his name was not among those being considered at that time. He was not even from the geo-political zone that most people thought the job would go to as the president then was from same geopolitical zone with him;

*Today he remains humbled by President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to grant him an unprecedented second term as CBN Governor- again without lobbying. Thus he will continue to remain loyal to him and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

*Mr. Emefiele told us that he believes it’s the prerogative of President Muhammadu Buhari to plan his succession in line with global best practices for good governance for the continuing peace and progress of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as such he will play his part to stabilise the economy for an orderly transition.

*And given that it’s God that anoints leaders, he will leave his faith firmly in the hands of God.

The Emefiele’s Friends stated that the 2023 Presidency has subjected the CBN Governor to attacks from vested interests.

They said: “In the past few weeks, there have been media reports on the purported interest of the Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, in the 2023 presidential race, leading to stampede by interested parties and vested interests who are resorting to all sorts of blackmail, sponsored articles and choreographed comments on social media targeted at tainting Godwin Emefiele’s image, impugning his character and legacy.

“Clearly, the negative attacks are being sponsored by those who see Emefiele as a major threat to their political ambition. Truth is Godwin Emefiele has not confirmed to anyone he is running for President even as he is constitutionally qualified to do so; he has been under pressure in the past few weeks as different groups have been putting up unsolicited campaign for his candidacy. Only yesterday, as the speculation became widespread, a group of his friends under the aegis of FRIENDS OF GODWIN EMEFIELE met with him to clarify his position.”

TheStar