By Emmanuel Mogbede
The North-South Progressives Alliance, has called on Mr Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor to review the Naira re-design and cashless policy in the interest of Nigerians.
Mr Ayobami Oyalowo, Co-Convener, North-South Progressives Alliance, a support group of All Progressives Congress (APC) made the call at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja.
Oyalowo said the CBN must hasten to the call by notable individuals and organisations, both within and outside the country by reviewing the policy which was coursing hardship on Nigerians.
He said the apex bank should also put in new measures that would ease the hardship the policy had coursed on Nigerians in a matter of days.
“We are gathered here today as patriotic and progressive Nigerians seeking to deliver the soul of this country from the hands of a wicked few.
“These few individuals have sworn to make life miserable and unbearable for Nigerians and to bring disrepute to the good intentions of the President Muhammadu Buhari-government.
“It is no longer news that Nigerians are suffering untold hardship as a result of ill-timed, myopic and poorly implemented monetary policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN),’’ Oyalowo said.
He noted that the CBN in a bid to instantly transform the country to a cashless economy had succeeded in creating an unprecedented economic hardship.
He further noted that, while most banks across the country were under lock and key, queues at ATM points were growing by the day.
He added that the number of banks in operation in major cities could be counted since there was no cash to service the growing list of customers requesting for their monies.
He said farmers were losing their harvest because nobody was buying them, while few who were lucky to get buyers were forced to sell at ridiculously cheap prices to dispose what they had.
“The informal sector is grinding to a halt and a yet to be determined amount of jobs are being lost on a daily.
“Because the life blood of their operations had been disrupted by a policy the management of the CBN does not have the capacity to actualise.
“We have seen video evidences of elderly men and women writhing in pains, some crying their hearts out because they cannot access their money to buy drugs, food or meet other basic needs,’’ Oyalowo said.
According to him, those who are not so lucky have paid with their lives, adding that in spite of the glaring sad realities, the CBN had refused to review the policy and make amends where necessary.
Oyalowo said instead, the CBN governor had continued to claim that there was enough money in circulation, while blaming the commercial banks for creating scarcity of the new naira notes.
“Not even the intervention by the National Council of States who advised that the old notes be recirculated has yielded any action from Emefiele.
“Even the call by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), The World Bank and many other national and international bodies has been ignored by the CBN governor.
“The CBN under Emefiele is simply playing the ostrich, thus putting a spammer in the wheel of the progress made by the President Buhari-led administration in the last eight years,’’ Oyalowo said.
He said the alliance was deeply offended by the CBN policies which rather than accentuate the country`s economic growth, had become a tool for the destruction of her economic fabric.
He said the alliance was convinced that there were more to the CBN policy as intended by Emefiele than meets the eye.
He added that it was however absolutely wrong to put millions of Nigerians in jeopardy just for the purpose of targeting one or a few individuals.
“This is not time to plot an evil agenda, but time to put hands together for the growth of the economy, especially in the face of a global downturn.
“The cashless policy is ill-timed, poorly implemented, wicked, anti-people and anti-Nigeria.
“It is also right to demand that the head of the apex bank Godwin Emefiele resign forthwith, since he has not only run out of ideas.
“But also lacks the capacity to tap into the ideas of those who have freely offered them in ensuring that a quick and sustainable solution to the current hardship faced by Nigerians are brought to bear,’’ he said (NAN)
