BY NONYELUM JULIET
A rights group, Nigerian Unemployed Youth Vanguard has asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to demonstrate his seriousness in reviving the ailing economy by restructuring the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The CSO alleged that the policies introduced by the CBN under the leadership of Mr Olayemi Cardoso had further worsened the economic situation of the country which has thrown Nigerians into severe hunger as a result of hyperinflation, forex crisis, outrageous interest rates for businesses amongst others.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Monday, National Coordinator of the group, Comrade Danesi Momoh and Director of Programmes
Comrade Igwe Ude-Umanta maintained that the call became imperative after a critical review of the policies and programmes of the CBN without any clear solution in sight.
According to them, the management of Nigeria’s economic crisis as it stands now, was far beyond the competency of Olayemi Cardoso to fix, adding that the best way to end the hardship faced by Nigerians was to right the dysfunctional policies of the CBN and revive the ailing economy by injecting vibrant hands to manage the nation’s fiscal and monetary policies.
They said: “Our very early recommendation is that he should resign or be sacked without any delay. We are currently buffeted on all sides by the crisis of continuing and worsening purchasing power of the Naira and a sickening forex nightmare; the catastrophe of hyper-inflation and the consequent inability of many families to eke out a decent living. Nigeria is faced with monetary and fiscal problems without any clear solution in sight as Cardoso is clearly overwhelmed and powerless.
“It is a pity that under the Renewed Hope Agenda of the current administration, Nigerians are increasingly becoming hopeless. Nigerians have yet to see anything to fire up their hopes or hear any tangible thing to build their faith about the reforms of the Tinubu administration as Cardoso continues to mask his incompetence in the arrogance of silence and evasion of accountability. This is unacceptable and Cardoso should be sacked to restore the hopes of Nigerians.”
The group noted further that the only policies pursued by the CBN Governor such as the lifting of the ban on the importation of 43 items and the adoption of a floating exchange rate to enable market forces to determine the prices of forex have been injurious to the economy.
“let it be known that allowing the importation of anything into the country is injurious to local manufacturing and production. Again, the issue of a total floating exchange rate is illegal by virtue of Section 16 of the CBN Act. As has already been sufficiently argued by Mr Femi Falana, SAN and other patriotic, experienced and competent Nigerians.
“While he is far from achieving his promises to Nigerians, the ones he is implementing are illegal or injurious to the economy. How are we to survive policies that keep the country’s forex almost at the total mercy of Bureau De Change Operators and even cryptocurrency influences?
“We can rejoice temporarily that by daily issuance of circulars and a clamp down on BDCs, there is a downward trend in the forex crisis, but where is the stability promised? None available and none in sight. It is now clear that Mr Yemi Cardoso was not and is not fit for this job.
“Yemi Cardoso’s tragic relationship with failed banks due to insolvency ranging from Citizens Bank to Spring Bank cast a definite dark shadow on his competence as a banker. We, therefore, make bold to say that Mr. Cardoso is a disaster.
“There is nothing in his head and no magic can be expected from him. We urge Mr. President to act now if he is sincere in fixing the economy and placing us on the path of growth and prosperity”.
Even though the Naira has recorded some appreciable gains against the dollar in the last few days, the CSO insists that the steps taken to achieve that were not sustainable adding that it would be foolhardy for Nigerians to rejoice yet.
“Due to a number of fire brigade approaches, the Naira has gained an appreciable strength against the dollar, moving from N1960 penultimate week to N1440 as of Monday.
Ordinarily, it should be cheering news that the Naira will continue to appreciate. The problem, however, is that the number of measures responsible for this appreciation are not sustainable. They are not based on clearly thought-out policy(ies) but a reaction to a near economic pandemic”.
The CSO reiterated its commitment to mobilise Nigerians across all walks of life and other CSOs for a sustained mega protest in the coming weeks across the federation including occupying all CBN branches, commercial bank premises and the National Assembly “if Cardoso does not resign or is not sacked. Enough is enough”.
