More condemnations for naira redesign as Adeboye, others berate policy
The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Pastor Enoch Adeboye on Friday added his voice to the criticism that has trailed the decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the country’s currency notes.
Adeboye, who was addressing the congregation at the RCCG’s November Holy Ghost Service at the church headquarters on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, said the policy makes no sense in the face of the free fall of naira against foreign currencies.
The clergyman wondered why the decision makers initiated the policy without consideration for the current value of the naira and the prices of basic items in the country.
He said: “You know what is going on in our country. It doesn’t even make sense anymore. Our naira now is not even worth the paper it is printed on.
“While people are hungry, trying to find enough money to buy bread to eat, our bosses are thinking of making the naira more beautiful, even if it can’t buy bread, at least, it will look beautiful.
“We have problems in the land now. Things seem to be getting funnier and funnier. If you don’t learn to laugh in Nigeria now, you will develop hypertension.”
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, had on October 26 announced the plan to redesign the naira notes in a bid to control the volume of money in circulation and aid security agencies in tackling illicit flow of money.
Numbered among those who have criticised the move is Edo State governor, Godwin Obaseki.
A group under the aegis of Concerned Northern Forum (CNF) yesterday called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Emefiele and his team within seven days over the plan to redesign the naira.
CNF, which made the demand during a press conference held at the Arewa in Kaduna, said that failure to meet their demand would force them to embark on massive protest across the northern region and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The Spokesperson of the forum, Comrade Abdulsalam Mohammed Kazeem, said the redesigning of the Naira bills would not improve the lives of the people but rather add to their hardship.
He said the prices of food and other items used by their people have increased beyond control with the probability of a rise in crime rate because of what he termed the bad financial policy of the apex bank.
He said: “We must state categorically that the large population of Nigerians has lost confidence in the current leadership of the CBN to initiate and introduce policies that would improve the economy of our dear nation, therefore we maintain our earlier position.
“Our position includes the immediate suspension of the whole process of the new naira design; the immediate sack of Mr Godwin Emefele and his entire team for failing Nigerians, being the longest serving governor in recent times, prosecution of those behind this devilish and wicked agenda.
“Failure to meet up with our demands within the next seven (7) working days, will lead to a massive protest across our region and the federal capital Territory.
“The redesigning of the three (3) denominations of the naira notes by the Central Bank of Nigeria owing to the reason that the banks are not in possession of as much as 80% of the amount in circulation is not only a joke but a total rejection of the realities of the many failed policies of the CBN.
“It is in fact impossible to find all monies in a country in the bank at a particular time because of the distance of banks and the peculiarities of every business and people. There is also no law against saving and keeping one’s money and transacting business outside the purview of the banks.
“Banks have always been perceived by our people as the creation of the elite used to run businesses and make profits from the savings of the ordinary masses.
“The redesigning of the Naira bills will bring nothing good neither will it improve the lives of our people and region except hardship which the vast majority of our people are already witnessing.
“The prices of food and other daily items used or consumed by our people have increased beyond control and the probability of increase in CRIME rate is high due to the bad financial policy of the apex bank.”
Obasanjo’s image should be on new note – Atiku
The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, yesterday said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should consider imprinting the image of former president Olusegun Obasanjo on the proposed new naira notes.
In a series of tweets on Saturday, Atiku also argued that Obasanjo deserves to win the Nobel Peace Prize for his leadership excellence.
Speaking against the background of the decision of Ethiopia and the country’s northern Tigray region to reach an agreement to end their two-year conflict, Atiku said: “I celebrate the extraordinary prowess of His Excellency, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, in bringing peace to Ethiopia.
“I am not surprised. I know my boss. He did the same thing in Liberia and São Tomé and Príncipe during our time in office.”
He added: “If for nothing else, he is most deserving of a Nobel Peace Prize, and I will nominate him when entries are open for nominations.”
The PDP presidential candidate believes that Africa is blessed to have a statesman of Obasanjo’s “impeccable democratic credentials”, adding that the former president is “a man whose image ought to be in the redesigned naira note to inspire future generations of Nigerians to sacrifice for their nation and continent.
“On behalf of my family, I congratulate you, President Olusegun Obasanjo, GCFR, for successfully ending the Ethiopia-Tigray conflict. And I thank God for the gift of wisdom and foresight He gave you, which you have used creditably to steer Nigeria and Africa on the right path.”
How to halt naira free fall, by experts
Worried about the dwindling fortunes of the naira, a cross-section of experts have suggested short, medium and long term measures to halt its free fall.
The naira has been experiencing a free fall in recent times such that it is having a rippled negative effect on the economy.
Independent checks at the parallel market yesterday showed that the naira exchanged for N890 to a dollar and was N870 on Friday.
The belief in some quarters is that the downward spiral of the naira was made worse by the new naira redesign policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Speaking in an interview with our correspondent last night, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), said the way out of the quagmire as far as the naira is concerned is many pronged solutions rather than a one-size-fits-all.
“We must abolish the fixed and parallel exchange market rate. This will encourage remittances, export proceeds and capital inflow to increase supply in the market.
“There is a need to also revisit the suspension of the BDCs and inject liquidity into the forex market. We also need to liberalise diaspora remittances exchange rate and finally, ensure effective collaboration with all stakeholders.”
Echoing similar sentiments, Dr Muda Yusuf, CEO, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) said policy options such as adoption of flexible exchange rate regime, improving liquidity in the forex market, liberalisation of the export proceeds, diaspora remittances could be explored to mitigate the current crisis.
While reiterating his desire for a flexible exchange, Yusuf, who is former Director-General at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the adoption of a flexible exchange rate policy regime is a pricing mechanism that reflects the demand and supply fundamentals in the foreign exchange market.
“It is a model that is sustainable, predictable and transparent. It is a policy regime that would reduce uncertainty and inspire the confidence of investors. It is a policy framework that would minimise discretion and arbitrage in the foreign exchange allocation mechanism,” he said.
The Nigerian economy, he stressed, “has the capacity to weather the current turmoil if the policy contexts are right. We have the market, the people and the natural resources. The opportunities that the present situation offers would only be realised if policy obstructions to resource flows are removed.”
In a prognosis of the crisis that has led to spike in the exchange rate, the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Mr Olusola Obadimu, said things literally went south when the CBN governor announced the new policy regime on redesigning of the naira.
Obadimu said: “First of all, a panic situation has been created already and that is the real reason why there is some level of apprehension in the system.
“When the CBN governor asked people to bring their money to the bank he never envisaged the kind of situation there is today.
“Now people are afraid to go to the banks for fear that the banks may notify the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or other law enforcement agencies, especially if they know that their source of money is not legitimate.
“Such people are ready to convert their local currency at any exchange rate just to procure the dollar. That’s what has been happening.
“So the BDCs are getting hauls of cash in local currency in exchange for the dollar. The BDCs are getting more requests for dollar remittance with little inflow of dollars. So the demand is what is affecting the fortunes of the Naira now.”
Just like others suggested, the way forward, Obadimu observed, is for the government to put in place a single FX rate and ensure that no one works at cross-purpose with the policy. Nation
