The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, CPPE, warns that the presidential ambition of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, is a distraction that is dragging the apex bank into the chaotic space of partisan politics.
This was disclosed in a statement shared with Nairametrics by Dr Muda Yusuf, CPPE CEO on Sunday.
He urged the Central Bank Governor to resign in order to preserve its integrity, credibility and independence.
What the CPPE chief is saying
Mr Yusuf warned that the disposition of the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, has cast a dark cloud over the credibility, independence, neutrality and professionalism of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
He said, “It is a troubling development because of the huge reputational risk to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the wider implications for the Nigerian economy.
“It portends ominous outlook for the credibility of monetary policy, foreign exchange policy, management of intervention funds and the impartial discharge of regulatory responsibilities of the apex bank.”
He warned of profound implications for the confidence of investors, both foreign and local as the CBN needs to earn the trust of all stakeholders in the economy, irrespective of their political affiliation, creed, gender, religion, ethnicity or vocation.
“These are not the best times for the Nigerian economy. The distractions of dragging the apex bank into the chaotic space of partisan politics can only worsen an already bad situation,” he said.
He added that the economy is yet to recover from the shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic as many businesses and investors are still struggling to survive in the context of a fragile economic recovery.
He also listed that stakeholders in the economy are contending with the following predicaments, which are partly consequences of dysfunctional monetary and foreign exchange policies of the Central Bank:
- Record plunge of the naira exchange rate to about N590 to a dollar.
- Unprecedented disparities between the official and parallel market exchange rates which has created grave distortions and dislocations in the economy. The disparity in rates has created a paradise for forex brokers and currency speculators. The business of forex round tripping is also flourishing.
- There is a liquidity crisis in the forex market on a scale never witnessed in a recent history. Many players in the economy are faced with great difficulty in accessing foreign exchange to import their raw materials, equipment and meeting their foreign payment obligations to their partners. Some have suffered reputational damage as a result.
- Many foreign investors are not able to remit funds outside the country which has created serious country risk and perception problems for the Nigerian economy. This had also negatively impacted foreign capital inflows into the economy.