The Coalition of Civil Society Groups (CCSG), has passed a vote of confidence upon the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, just as the groups highlighted some of the achievements of the apex bank boss that warranted such clean bill of health.
Addressing a press conference yesterday in Abuja, the coalition’s President, Mr Etuk Bassey Williams, and Secretary, Abubarka Ibrahim, said Emefiele’s contribution to the development and growth of the Nigerian economy, as well as innovations in development financing, earned him President Muhammadu Buhari’s nomination for a second term in office as CBN Governor, adding that this singular achievement is by the records the first time anyone had been so nominated since 1999.
While stating that its aim is to encourage the bank’s leadership not to relent but to do more and continue to justify the confidence reposed on them by President Buhari, the coalition president said it had observed the hard work, commitment, dedication and tact employed in the management of Naira by Emefiele and his team.
“We are bold to say that Nigeria is in a safe hand, economically. There is no doubt that his appointment in 2014, and re-appointment in 2020 was the right judgement.
“In a sincere effort to salvage the naira, the CBN stopped the sales of Forex to Bureau De Change (BDC) Operators who exploit and artificially inflate dollar/naira exchange. We applaud this move to discourage illicit financial flow, BDC racketeering and indiscriminate round tripping. We applaud the genuine effort of the Governor in trying to stabilize the naira.
“The Governor has halted the recession that recently threatened the country through the new monetary policies on diaspora remittance and sustainable intervention. We consider this as a master strokes.
“The same tact came to bear in this present Covid-19 induced economic challenge as we were able to bounce back faster than other African Countries. The policies have been deliberate, precise and impactful.
“In line with his promise at the unveiling of his Agenda in 2014, he commenced operation with the objective of enhancing access to credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as that sector remains the catalysts of economic growth in Nigeria.”
The coalition further described the CBN gov as, “A nationalistic economist of a kind, no doubt Emefiele has shown commitment, in the course of his tenure, he has championed diversification of the Nigerian economy, away from heavy dependence on crude oil and other imported items that can be produced in the country.
“He has continued to make effort to stabilized the Naira and put the economy on a right footing. Creating the Inter-bank/Wholesale and the Investors/Exporters’ windows. This has brought great relive, leading to remarkable acreage in foreign reserve and rise in capital inflow.
“We request that everybody support this Government, there is no doubt that the Governor of CBN and his team will deliver. Indeed Mr. Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele has done wonderfully well to deserve more accolades from Nigerians for a work well done,” the coalition said.
