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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has refuted reports Governor Godwin Emefiele used a chartered jet during the recent burial of his mother.
Alice Emefiele died last Christmas Day and was buried at the beginning of this month.
It has been alleged the central bank governor chartered a private jet, out of line with his order for the trend to stop to support government’s cost-cutting measures.
Isaac Okorafor, CBN Acting Director of Corporate Communications, this past weekend rejected the allegations.
“No private jet was used by Mr Emefiele, his immediate family, or indeed other principal officers of the Bank during the burial of Mr Emefiele’s mother,” said Okorafor.
“For the avoidance of doubt, it should be noted that Mr Emefiele and his family flew a commercial Arik flight from Lagos to Benin for their mother’s burial.”
Oorafor said all accounts indicated Emefiele’s mother’s burial was a model in cost-cutting and an uncommon demonstration of his modest “made in Nigeria” philosophy.
CBN has, for several years in the past, used private and official chartered flights in making urgent travels to meet needs in remote,
not-easily- accessible locations or in cases where timing might be critical to matters of urgent national importance.
Last year, in response to the economic downturn and the cost-cutting stance of Government, Emefiele ordered the stoppage of the use of chartered flights by the bank.
“Since then, neither Mr Emefiele nor any of the Deputy Governors has used the services of private chartered flights and the CBN has not paid a kobo for private jet services,” said Okorafor.
