•Faceless economic saboteurs and “palm wine drinkers” behind it
Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole has described those calling for the sack of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, as faceless manipulators of Nigerian Economy.
The governor made the statement yesterday in Abuja during his visit to the National Universities Commission (NUC) to present a letter of recognition of the Edo University in Iyamho.
When asked about the state of the economy and about the call by some people for the federal government to remove the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
He said there was a new federal government that won election on the basis of a mantra of change and that there were all kinds of people who have made money from the nation’s economy without contributing anything.
He said, “These are people who made money by just playing on exchange rate, and all sort of things; commercial papers, among others. It is these speculators that are calling for his removal. “The CBN governor has been firm that we cannot open the doors to all kinds of imports, of tooth picks, tomato paste and so on.”
He recalled the 41 items the CBN prohibited from having access to FOREX, stating that “these people who have been feeding fat on our common patrimony, manipulating the exchange rate, moving money across boundaries by pressing buttons and taking advantage of electronic money transfers, are the ones behind this campaign.”
He said on the other hand, there were some opportunistic elements, who he described as “those who feel that if this man goes, then I will get there. I think this government is making a point that the hiring and firing of the CBN governor need not be a political decision; we should respect institutions; the hiring and firing is not a matter to be discussed by faceless Facebook manipulators, and by the time you unmask the people behind it you find out that they are palm wine drinkers.”
Gov. Oshiomhole said there was a challenge of running the economy right now with the limited inflow of FOREX, adding that there was no need to “trigger a process that will lead to endless devaluation that ultimately will reduce the Naira to Zimbabwean dollars. I think the CBN governor is right in standing his ground and those who are opposed to him are free to speculate.”
He said, “I know that President Muhammadu Buhari is not going to be fooled by people who want to have a regime where the government will become just an onlooker and allow our Naira note to become worthless, while they are making money from speculation. Those guys are wasting their time.”
On the funding of a new university in addition of the existing Ambrose Alli University in the state, Oshiomhole said, “it is not going to be free on Edo State Government, but because there is state fund in it, what you get in relation to what you pay will be something that you will be quite happy about. There is no pretending; Edo State Government will not deliver free university education but we will create the access for those who want it and for those who can afford it. For those who cannot afford it, we will devise ways and means to provide support for them.”
Also, the executive committees of a coalition of civil society groups rose in defence of Emefiele and condemned the threat of a protest by “a shadowy, bogus and unscrupulous group parading itself as a civil society organisation”.
The civil society groups stated that the central bank governor was being persecuted for the policies on the implementation of the Bank Verification Number (BVN), restriction on foreign exchange allocation, reform of the bureau de change sub-sector, and refusal by the central bank to devalue the naira.
The groups also stated that the “phony” group threatening to hold a protest against Emefiele was not a civil society organisation and was therefore not recognised by the coalition of civil society groups in Nigeria.
In a statement yesterday, the coalition insisted that regardless of how this phony group tries to mask itself as a civil society organisation, an independent investigation had revealed that it was in fact a political organisation of paid agents and sponsored groups representing the interest of a certain geopolitical zone in the country.
The coalition revealed that the promoters of this group are persons who are known to be troublesome and have the capacity to disrupt the public peace.
The groups said they fully appreciate the difficulties and anxieties of many Nigerians given the present tough economic environment, but maintained that the situation was not caused by one man or one institution and considered it unfair for anyone or group to try to put the blame on only one person or organisation.
According to the coalition, relative to its peers, the Nigerian economy was not performing that badly.
“Among commodity-exporting economies, for instance, inflation, GDP growth and employment are far worse in countries like Zambia, Ghana, and Argentina with inflation rates of between 19-28 per cent. As a matter of fact, Brazil and Russia are in recession, while South Africa is struggling to record positive growth.
“These are all linked to the fall in commodity prices in the international market. Emefiele and the CBN have so far managed to keep inflation far below what has been recorded in many comparator countries,” the coalition said.
It insisted that the policies of the Emefiele-led CBN are aimed at protecting ordinary Nigerians from the destructive capitalistic instincts of a few speculators.
“Emefiele’s policies have truncated the rent-seeking ability of many of these economic parasites and saboteurs. And we believe it is for this singular reason that both Emefiele and the CBN are being vilified in the most unfair and disgraceful manner by a sponsored group of anarchists.
“Nigerians have been taken for a ride for too long. Our collective patrimony has been cornered by a few looters for too long. We can no longer stand idly by and watch these thieves, in collaboration with foreign neo-colonialists and imperialists, keep the masses of our people under perpetual bondage. This is the time to free Nigeria and its people from the dirty hands and greedy mouths of a few,” the civil society groups added.
They stated that Emefiele’s detractors are aggrieved by his implementation of the BVN, which ensures that those who have looted the country’s resources and concealed them under various account names are detected.
“Given their inability to hide their identities these thieves have vowed to hound Emefiele for daring to destroy their criminal activities. May God never allow them to succeed,” the groups said.
