On Wednesday, supporters of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, revealed that they had raised N67 million for the apex bank boss.
The fund will be used to purchase his All Progressives Congress (APC) Expression of Interest and Presidential Nomination Form, according to them.
The supporters, under the aegis of Emefiele Support Group (ESG), at a press briefing in Abuja, also said they are targeting N100 million before the end of next week.
Although Emefiele, an indigene of Ika in Agbor, Delta State, is yet to formally declare his intention to run for the seat, his supporters maintained that his emergence would douse tension and agitation in the South East.
Addressing journalists at the briefing, the ESG Director of Communications, Ms Benigna Ejimba, stressed that members of the Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN) are expected to contribute N25,000 each.
Ejimba added that all importers and other Nigerians who have benefitted from the CBN’s initiatives and interventions under the leadership of Emefiele are also expected to make the freewill donations.
She said, “As of today, we have received donations from our members of young professionals and other concerned groups to the tune of N67 million and some fraction.
“We are hopeful that by next week we would have succeeded in raising the sum of N100 million.
“This will enable us to purchase the APC Expression of Interest and Presidential Nomination Form which we already project that this sum will be sufficient.
“We were expecting the contributions from our rice farmers’ members who benefited immensely from the agricultural interventions of the CBN and have also had a bountiful harvest.
“Once their contributions arrive before the end of the week, we are hopeful to hit our set out target by next week.
“By that next week, we will be expecting the contributions from our Lagos-based importers whose businesses have benefited from the CBN initiatives who have indicated their interest also in supporting Mr Emefiele.
“We are confident that we may even surpass the 100 million naira target for the form and for this we are grateful to all our members for their contributions to this worthy cause.
“To ensure that members out of a passion for their benefactor do not affect their businesses, we placed a cap of N25, 000 as the highest amount any member could donate and the response as you all can see has been quite encouraging.”
The campaign posters of the apex bank boss had flooded Eagle Square, the venue of the convention of the ruling APC which was held last Saturday in Abuja, alongside other bigwigs of the party eyeing the number one seat.