» "Those Calling For CBN Governor's Sack Are Palmwine Drinkers" - Oshiomhole «

Edo State governor says CBN governorship should not be
politicised
Ejiofor Alike in Lagos and Paul Obi in Abuja
Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole and a coalition
of civil society groups in the country yesterday condemned
those calling for the sack of the Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, describing
them as faceless manipulators of the Nigerian economy
who are bent on wasting their time.
They stated that President Muhammadu Buhari would not
be fooled by them into sacking the CBN governor.
Oshiomhole said the hiring and firing of the CBN governor
is not a political decision because institutions such as the
central bank are central to economic growth and
development of any serious nation.
The governor argued that those angling for the sack of
Emefiele were merely invisible hands who have continued
to thwart the nation’s economic resources for their selfish
interest.
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.
“If a governor is doing fine, his hiring and firing is not a
matter that should be discussed by faceless Facebook
manipulators, and by the time you unmask the people
behind it, you will discover that they are palm wine
drinkers,” he said.
Oshiomhole said with the challenge of running the
economy undergoing a recession where there is limited
inflow of foreign exchange, the government does not want
to trigger a process that will lead to endless devaluation
that will ultimately reduce the Nigerian naira to
Zimbabwean dollar.
“President Buhari is not going to be fooled by people who
want to have a regime where government is just an
onlooker and allow the naira to become worthless and
people are making money from speculation. So those guys
are wasting their time,” he said.
The Edo State governor noted that the CBN governor was
right in insisting on the 41 items that had been denied
access to forex from the interbank forex market, adding
that “people who have been feeding fat on our common
patrimony, manipulating the exchange rate and moving
money across boundaries are the speculators spreading
the campaign for his sack”.
He explained that the country has a new federal
government which won an election on the basis of the
mantra of change and there are all kinds of people who
have made money in this economy without contributing
anything.
“We have a new federal government that has won election
on the basis of change and there are all kinds of people
who have made a lot of money from the economy without
contributing anything by just playing on exchange rates
and commercial papers.
“It is these speculators, because the CBN governor has
been saying we cannot open the doors to all kinds of
imports such as toothpicks, tomato paste and all sorts of
things who have been feeding fat on our common
patrimony, manipulating the exchange rate, moving money
across borders, and taking advantage of electronic money
transfers, that are behind these campaigns,” he said.
Oshiomhole added: “Of course there are some opportunistic
elements, people who feel that if this man goes, I will get
there and they are ready to go to any length to remove
him.
“I think this government is making a point that the hiring
and firing of CBN governors need not be a political
decision, because we should respect institutions; the hiring
and firing is not a decision by Facebook manipulators, and
by the time you unmask the people behind it, you will
discover that they are palm wine drinkers.
“I think the CBN governor is right, he is standing his
grounds and those who are opposed to him are free to
speak, but I know that President Buhari is not going to be
fooled by people who want to see a regime where
government is just an onlooker and allows our naira to
become worthless and for people to make money from
speculation, so those guys are wasting their time.”
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.
They also noted that the list of 41 items not eligible for
forex at the CBN did not go down well with Emefiele’s
detractors, as the elite and business moguls had been
depleting the country’s forex reserves by aggressively
importing goods, which could be easily produced in Nigeria.
“By their action, these profiteers have killed jobs in Nigeria
and created jobs abroad. They have exported prosperity
abroad and imported poverty into their fatherland. But as
long as their huge profit margins are guaranteed, they do
not care. What Emefiele and his team have done is to say
that we can no longer import unemployment and export
wealth out of Nigeria,” the groups explained.
The coalition also noted that Emefiele was being
persecuted because of the reform of the BDC sub-sector
that is being undertaken to ensure that genuine business
people engage in the business and not serve as fronts for
those who continuously loot the national treasury.
“Indeed these looters and their sponsors have used all
sorts of guises to register several BDCs with which they
drain foreign exchange from the CBN and use such to
transfer their loot abroad. It is only in Nigeria that BDCs
expect government (CBN) to give them foreign exchange
before they do business,” they added.