A group, Arewa Youth Assembly (AYA), has expressed concern that the dwindling situation of the economy in the country has affected every spheres of life negatively.
A statement issued by the Speaker of the group, Mohammed Salihu Danlami, noted that the country’s economy has depreciated greatly, attributing its failure to incompetence on the side of the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) occasioned by what the group called greed, corruption, unfriendly policies and the lack of good will to do what is just.
The group stated that the failure of the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emiefele, is beyond imagination, saying that the government turned deaf ears when there was a public call for Mr President not to reappoint him for a second term in office.
It noted that the fear of many Nigerians is manifesting in how fast the Nigerian economy is taking a nose dive, with the rise in inflation increasing everyday and lives unbearable to Nigerians.
The statement stated that the Naira is losing value, tying the depreciation in the value of the Naira to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy, stressing that the pandemic was global yet the currencies of other countries have not lost ground as much as the naira has.
According to the statement, “All the different programmes of the CBN has under the watchful eyes of Mr Emiefele been hijacked by greedy politicians and Emiefele’s cohorts who are hell bent on enlarging their already very fat pockets at the detriment of the growth and well-being of the masses, saying that amongst these misdeeds is how Mr Emiefele was dishing out BDC licenses to members of the National Assembly. These are people who lack the professionalism to do such businesses, dollars are always made available to those individuals just on a call. While Mr President is working his sleeves out in the fight against corruption, some supposed lieutenant such as Mr Emiefele are busy aiding it and thereby playing down on Mr President’s effort.”
It lamented that the CBN has failed to submit its audited account to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) for scrutiny, since 2010 till date, adding that this was confirmed by the Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Rt. Hon. James Faleke.
Recall that Faleke in an interactive session with the Deputy Governor, Corporate Services Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Edward Adamu, said the apex bank had failed to remit about N800 billion to the Federal Government.
It explained that it does not speak well of the apex bank that is supposed to be championing proper scrutiny for financial dealings and transactions especially within the finance sector.
It further explained that one of the biggest fraud under Mr Emiefele’s leadership is the CBN COVID-19 loan, pointing out that the governor of the CBN through this loan has seen an opportunity to siphon money in other to pursue his alleged greedy presidential ambition that holds nothing good for the country.
The statement expressed confidence that the hope of all Nigerians is that the E-Naira wallet initiative that is to kick off on the 1st of October, 2021 would actually meet the aim of the initiative and fulfill the expectations of many Nigerians and not “a criminal medium” to funnel out funds to support the selfish presidential ambition of Mr. Emiefele.
It observed that a year ago, on July 24, 2020, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) unveiled series of guidelines for the non-interest financial interventions under its non interest loan scheme initiative for Agric-Business Small & Medium Enterprise Investment Scheme(AGSMEIS), Micro Small & Medium Enterprise Development Fund(MSMEDF), the Accelerated Agricultural Development Fund(AADF), adding that these scheme attracts a lot of interest from several Nigerians, as millions applied for the scheme following every due procedure, but over a year and nothing has been said or heard about this scheme from the CBN.
It added that the scheme has been abandoned and is largely due to Emefiele’s now divided attention as what is uppermost in his thought is his Presidential ambition, stressing that the CBN Governor should resign and face his ambition squarely, Nigeria and Nigerians cannot be allowed to suffer just for the interest of one man.
The statement noted that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) threatened a fresh strike as a result of impasse implementations of agreed terms with the Federal Government, saying that again, the CBN is in the centre of all the commotion.
It said that the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Mr Chris Ngige pointed accusing fingers at the CBN under the leadership of Mr Emefiele as not been able to come up with her audited report that will enable the Federal Government to implement and execute on projects meant to foster progress on all front, lamenting Mr Emefiele’s nonchalant attitude is playing a very big role in holding the educational system to ransom.
The group called on Mr Emefiele to resign his position as the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or face their wrath as they are ready to occupy the premises of his office en masse in a few days from now and stay there permanently until he resigns.
