Oshiomhole says CBN Gov. Emefiele should Not be Sacked | Calls critics “Facebook Manipulators” & “Palm Wine Drinkers”

Edo State Governor, 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), 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.

In a report by Ejiofor Alike and Paul Obi for ThisDay, 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.“

Photo Credit: NAN-Photo