The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has described calls for the resignation of the Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, over issues relating to the exchange rate of the Naira as nothing but frustration cries by those who have and are still benefitting from rent-seeking practices in the parallel forex market.
Specifically, the apex bank linked the promoters of the spurious campaign to those the CBN authorities have refused to recognize as a significant segment of the country’s forex market.
A statement by the Director, Corporate Communications Department of the bank, Mr Osita Nwanisobi, indicated that “those behind such calls were only pursuing their selfish agenda fueled by those who had long benefitted from rent-seeking practices in the parallel forex market, which he refused to recognize as a significant segment of the country’s forex market.
“The CBN will not be distracted in its mandate by yielding to the selfish tendencies of a few to the detriment of the majority.
“The banking public should disregard claims aimed at impugning the reputation of the Bank as it remained committed to carrying out its mandate for the good of the Nigerian people”, the spokesman added.
Despite the campaign, Nwanisobi assured that the CBN remained committed to meeting the forex request of travellers with legitimate needs as they relate to travel allowances, payment of tuition and medical fees among other invisibles.
This is even as he reiterated the monetary authorities’ readiness to continuously provide adequate forex to all licensed banks to meet legitimate demands, assuring that no customer requiring forex for genuine transactions will be turned back by their banks.
Nwanisobi urged the banking public to insist on their rights to be attended to as long as they possess all the requisite documents to validate their forex requests.
While foreclosing revisiting the issue of allocation of forex to Bureaux de Change (BDCs), the Director maintained that supplying forex to the operators was not sustainable in the long run, particularly when it had been discovered that many of them had since deviated from the purpose for which they were issued licenses in the first instance.
He expatiated: “The rate in the CBN-unrecognized parallel market was not the reference rate of the Naira and we urge Nigerians to be wary of the activities of speculators who seek to manipulate the market for unpatriotic reasons.’’
