The apex bank said story was intended to bring the image of the bank and its officers to disrepute.

Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria has said that story by a news platform that it gave the sum of N500 million in new currency notes to support the candidate of Labour Party in Lagos Mr Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour ahead of the March 18 governorship election is false.

According to Emefiele, the story is intended to bring the image of the bank and its officers in disrepute.

TheNation had in its Monday, March 13, 2023 edition alleged that the N500 million gift to the Lagos Labour Party candidate was part of the plot to ensure that the All Progressives Congress, APC, the party of the President- Elect will not win the March 18 governorship election by Emefiele.

But while denying the claim, CBN,in a statement by its Acting-Director, Corporate Communications, Alhaji Isa Abdulmumin, on Monday said Emefiele has never met the Labour party governorship candidate directly or through a proxy.

CBN was also emphatic that Emefiele did not give a “kobo” to Rhodes-Vivour, describing the claim as completely false.

The apex bank said story was intended to bring the image of the bank and its officers to disrepute.

The statement reads, “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria has been drawn to a story published in the Nation newspaper of Monday, March 13, 2023, alleging that the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has launched a ‘fresh plot against the President-elect’.

“We wish to inform members of the public that this story is completely false and malicious as the CBN governor does not know and has never met or even spoken with Mr Rhodes-Vivour, either in person or through a proxy.

“We wish to reiterate that the CBN governor does not take part in politics and therefore, urges anyone with contrary information to prove the governor wrong by providing any facts,’’ he said.

CBN advised fake news purveyors to allow the governor and his team to focus on their assigned job with a view to achieving the statutory mandate of the bank.