The Movement for the Survival of Niger Delta (MOSOND) has lauded the President of the federation, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the suspension of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele.
MOSOND said “the move, among other actions within two weeks of assuming office, indicates that the President understands the plights of the citizens and has the political will to confront issues that have posed as stumbling block to the progress of the country.”
The group in a statement issued by its publicity secretary, Dr. Sebastine Agbefe on Saturday, described Emefiele as the most callous and cold-hearted CBN Governor since the country’s Independence in 1960. Noting that no monetary or CBN policy has brought so much hardship, poverty and pains to Nigerians than those orchestrated by Emefiele in the last 9years.
MOSOND called on the security agencies, particularly the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offices Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to thoroughly investigate the dealings and activities of Emefiele as CBN Governor and prosecute him if found wanting.
It alleged that the currency swap policy recently undertaken by the Apex Bank was a conduit pipe to siphon whatever was left in the national treasury. It also noted it was a policy targeted against certain politically exposed individuals, inadvertently crushing small and medium scale businesses. It was an “economic Covid”, (EcoVid), it added.
“The Currency Swap Policy which Nigerians roundly agree was a currency confiscation birthed by Emefiele was politically motivated, which is a total aberration, because the CBN Governor is mandated by law to be apolitical. In a bid to punish an individual or scuttle his political aspiration, Emiefele advanced a policy that brought untold hardship to citizens and threatened the peace and security of our country. The policy was a complete sham that needs thorough investigation.”
“More so, it is being rumored that as CBN Governor, Emefiele was neck deep in the business of illegally allocating millions of dollars to cronies for sales at black market, thereby encouraging parallel exchange rates,weakening our currency and economy for his personal gains. This is not to mention his mismanagement of COVID-19 loans and Anchor Borrowers Programme,” the group stated.
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It further added, “Understandably, the suspension and subsequent rumoured arrest of Mr. Emefiele did not come as a surprise to Nigerians particularly the Niger Deltans who witnessed the commercial upstaging of old and new generation banks who could not access and dispense the New Redesigned Naira Notes but Premium Trust Bank; a bank whose commercial doors were suspiciously opened for business months before the general elections had the new notes in abundance.
MOSOND assured the President of the support of all well-meaning Nigerians, especially the Niger Delta people, as he continues to show his leadership prowess and readiness to refocus the country on the path of greatness through strong decisions such as the Subsidy removal, Cleaning of the Central Bank and De-monopolization and decentralization of electricity (Generation, Transmission & Distribution), amongst others.
While urging the President to focus more on governance than politics, MOSOND said a part of funds to be recovered from the defunct subsidy regime should be channeled towards the construction of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail, to cushion the effects of subsidy removal on the indigenous people of Niger Delta.
“There is no gainsaying that subsidy removal is biting hard on the citizens. While we need to pay this price to set our country on the path of progress, there is an urgent need for rechanneling proceeds of subsidy removal to other important ventures to ameliorate the sufferings of the people. Particularly, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Rail project must be taken seriously at this point to appease our people,” the group said.
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