Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Godwin Emefiele is reportedly playing his “last card” in the closing chapter of the high-stake power-play that has embroiled Nigeria in the past six months.
It was gathered that the CBN head is resolved to influence the outcome of the March 18 governorship election in Lagos State in opposition to the ruling All Progressives Congress, despite disobeying the Supreme Court's judgement that the old N500 and N1000 notes remain legal cash until December 31. (APC).
According to sources, the apex bank distributed N500 million in new bank notes Friday night to support the Labour Party's (LP) campaign in the state.
The economic hub of Nigeria is Lagos, which is also Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu's political base. According to The Nation.
When its candidate, Peter Obi, garnered 582,454 votes against Tinubu's APC's 577,606 votes in the state's presidential elections on February 25, the LP pulled off an upset.
It was discovered that high-level CBN agents in Lagos were responsible for mobilizing the N500 million windfall. "Oga's personal contribution to the seizure of Lagos from Tinubu's influence, now that he has become the president-elect and would be relocating to Abuja," was how it was portrayed.
In spite of a Supreme Court order from March 3 mandating the revalidation of the N200, N500, and N1,000 notes until December 31, 2023, the latest secret cash largesse to the LP candidate's campaign comes at a time when many Nigerians groan under acute cash shortage as they daily wait in endless lines at banking halls and ATM centers across the country without being able to access their savings.
The LP is also said to have received $2 million in cash from a well-known retired millionaire general from the North in addition to Emefiele's N500 million in cash.
Under the condition that Obi would "defend my commercial" interests, particularly in the oil and gas industry, the aforementioned general had publicly endorsed Obi.
After Tinubu's selection as the next president-elect by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the businessman was reportedly shocked.
In order to compete "dollar for dollar" with the APC candidate in the Lagos elections, money has been provided for LP.
The millionaire General is well-known for being one among the "group of five generals" that colluded with others to do whatever they could to prevent the results of the presidential election from being announced when it became obvious that Tinubu was likely to win handily. According to The Nation.
As a resident of Lagos who has recently finished construction on a new home estimated to be worth $25 million, his most recent "investment" in Rhodes-Vivour is reported to be a "emotional last dice" intended to preserve his astonishment.