Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, has been called by the Kogi State Governorship Election Petition Tribunal, which is based in Abuja, to appear before it on Tuesday.

The tribunal called the governor of the CBN to clarify the central bank’s involvement in the state election scheduled for November 11, 2023.

Cardoso was called in response to a Monday application made by Alex Izinyon (SAN), the Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo’s attorney.

In the petition that the Social Democratic Party and its candidate, Muritala Ajaka, filed, the governor is the second respondent.

After the CBN governor and all bank officials declined to comply with the subpoena that the tribunal had issued on April 18, Izinyon filed the application.

In a letter to the tribunal, the CBN management said they would not be available until Friday, April 26 in response to their subpoena application, and he acknowledged being aware of this.

The governor should handle the subpoena before moving further, he continued, even though Ododo had planned to call his witnesses within five days.

Izinyon called the letter the apex bank sent to the tribunal “an act of contempt” and that he anticipated having a representative from the CBN’s legal department present on Monday.

According to him, a subpoena naturally bears the signature of the President and the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces.

Given that the case was time-bound, he stated that the CBN team should show in person before the tribunal on Tuesday to provide testimony. If they did not, it would be documented in the court file.

“If by tomorrow, we call our last witnesses and they (CBN officers) are not here, we urge my lord to look at our application in the interest of justice,” he said.

Izinyon’s plea was seconded by Pius Akubo (SAN), counsel for the petitioners, D.C. Demingwe (SAN), counsel for the All Progressives Congress, and Aliyu Saiki (SAN), counsel for the Independent National Electoral Commission.

But Akubo noted that even if CBN officials did not show up, he urged the court to allow the APC to continue with its defense after the governor must have summoned his witnesses, since Izinyon had indicated that the Ododo would be closing his defense on Tuesday.

Justice Ado Birnin-Kudu delivered the decision, ruling that the subpoena was sent to the bank’s director of Corporate Service and the governor of the CBN.

He claims that it is an order issued by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria’s capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.

The apex bank’s written statement to the tribunal that its officers “will be available on April 26” was deemed by the judge to be both disrespectful and condemnable.

The second respondent’s defense was then continued, and the panel postponed the case until April 23 to give the CBN time to provide justification.