Those Calling For CBN Gov Emefiele’s Sack Are Palm Wine Drinkers – Oshiomhole

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has condemned the recent call for the sack of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, while describing those behind the call as drunkards trying to sabotage the Nigerian economy.

The governor stated this in Abuja today when he paid a courtesy call on the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okogie to finalise plans on the take-off of the Edo State University, Iyamo.

He said the CBN has ended the nefarious career of those benefiting from an illegal capital market and other anti growth rackets. According to him, those are people who want the CBN boss out of the way by sponsoring spurious petition.

?According to him :“The truth of the matter is that we have a new Federal Government that has won election on the basis of a mantra of change and there are all kinds of people who have made money from this economy without contributing anything; people who make money by just playing on the exchange rates and commercial papers. It is these speculators that want the CBN Governor to be sacked.”

The governor further stated that the CBN under the current dispensation has blocked many drainpipes in the economy, by safe guarding the naira from decline. He noted that were it not for the quick interventions of the nation’s apex bank, the economy would have run into troubled waters with the naira getting badly hurt.

The Governor therefore called on President Buhari to ignore the calls.?? “The CBN Governor has been firm in saying that we cannot open up the doors to all kinds of import of toothpicks tomato paste and all sorts of things. You remember the publication about 41 items that has been denied access to official forex? Now, this people who have been feeding fat on our common patrimony, manipulating the exchange rate, moving monies across boundaries by pressing buttons and taking advantage of electronic wire transfers; these speculators are the once behind this campaign. Of cause there are also some opportunistic elements, people who want the man to go so that they can get there and they are ready to go to any length.

“This government is making a point that the hiring and firing of CBN Governor need not be a political decision, we should respect institutions; if a governor is doing fine, then the hiring and firing is not a matter to be discussed by faceless Facebook manipulators and by the time you unmask the people behind it, they are palm wine drinkers”, he stated.

He stated that sacking of the CBN boss could trigger a process that may ultimately reduce Nigerian Naira to that of the Zimbabwean currency. “The challenge of running the economy now when you have limited inflow of forex and you don’t wan to trigger a process that will lead to endless devaluation that will ultimately reduce Nigerian Naira to Zimbabwe dollar.

“I think the CBN governor is right in standing his ground and those who are oppose to him are free to speculate, but I know that President Buhari is not going to be fooled by people who want wants to have a regime where government is just an onlooker and allow the naira notes to become worthless and people are making money from speculation”, he added.

On his part, the NUC Executive Secretary, urged universities to contribute meaningfully to their host communities. He explained that Nigerian needs a martial plan on the development of the education sector.

Okogie enjoined the Edo State Governor to enlist the new university on the Nigerian Education and Research (NGren) platform.