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Emefiele: Why They Fight Him

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By Jackson Ugbechie

Have you noticed something lately about Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN? Perhaps, you haven’t.

Emefiele: Why They Fight Him

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor

But if you check the headlines, you would see a resurgence in criticisms of his leadership style.

You would observe an emerging pattern in a section of the media, all trying to malign the central banker who has summoned the boldness to tell Nigerians the truth.

Long before Nigeria suffered a huge drop in crude oil receipts, Emefiele has been crying like the Biblical lone voice in the wilderness, forewarning Nigerians to change their lifestyle of living off imported and exotic items.

He had argued that for every imported item we indulge our lavish lifestyle in, it takes a toll on our foreign reserve. And he took steps to block the leakages.

He moved against dollar merchants. Emefiele shut the illicit business of forex speculators. Those who apply and obtain dollars for production of tomato puree but end up importing same.

Those who obtain dollars in huge sums from CBN to produce toothpick but end up using same to import toothpick.

Those who obtain forex to import machinery to boost rice production using their farms as fronts and collateral but deploy it to import cars and rice. For these categories of forex speculators, Emefiele was bad business.

Yet, while Emefiele represents bad business for the forex merchants and their foreign collaborators, the CBN governor represents good business for Nigeria and Nigerians.

And if you notice that the criticisms against Emefiele heightened after his deserved reappointment by President Muhammadu Buhari for another five years, you would begin to understand why.

Those who have worked so hard to kill our local industries, be it the once booming textile industry, agriculture especially grains production, fertilizer production among other items that we could easily produce at home, are incensed that Emefiele was reappointed for yet another five long years.

They just can’t imagine how they could put up with this shrewd central bank governor who has come to pour sand in their garri.

Putting up with Emefiele’s fiscal responsibility demands is unimaginable for them. So, they must discredit the man and his mission.

But Nigerians should by now know that without Emefiele’s ban on the importation of over 40 items about two years ago, the nation’s foreign reserve would have been completly depleted.

Without his insistence on local production, there would never have been an assortment of locally-produced rice gracing our tables. Without his foresight to ban these items, the remnants of our textile factories would have completely disappeared.

But today, thanks to his restriction in forex allocation, his preference to finance production rather than consumption, there would not have been the revival now happening in the textile industry, in the agriculture value chain and in the drastic reduction in importation of grains from all over the world.

Emefiele sure deserves garland not the guillotine treatment that some unpatriotic elements and their foreign collaborators have decided to give to a man who only wants Nigerians to consume what they produce.

The latest media spin from Emefiele detractors is the unfounded, rather disingenuous tale that he was working to guarantee immunity for himself. This is the height of unreason.

It’s even grossly unfortunate that an elite body of the status of the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, NESG, is the one flying such flag of unreason. This simply mocks logic because all the issues raised about Emefiele weaving a coat of immunity for himself through the revision of the BOFIA Act are baseless. This is rather alarming because an elite group like the NESG is populated by highly enlightened men and women versed in the rudiments of basic rules of engagement and knowledgeable in all laws and associated statutes governing statutory bodies like the CBN


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E-Financial

Lagos State Appoints MoneyMaster as Payment Partner for “Ounje Eko” Programme

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“Ounje Eko”, the food price discount initiative of the Lagos State Government, has appointed leading payment service bank, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank Limited (MMPSB), as its collaborator in the bid to ensure ease of payments at the market.

MoneyMaster is one of the Central Bank of Nigeria-licensed Payment Service Banks (PSBs) to promote financial inclusion across Nigeria.

Under the partnership, MMPSB will apply its cutting-edge payment solution to engender easy payment and reconciliation in order to make   the experiences of Lagosians who will be getting their food supplies from the markets pleasurable. Its payment solution is also all-encompassing and ensures real time value to payment destinations.

The mobile bank was appointed as the collection and payment partner for “Ounje Eko” Food Markets programme which is a government initiative serving the five divisions of Lagos State. Consequent on this, MoneyMaster Payment Service Bank will collect payments in 57 LCDAs in the state.

The partnership gives credence to the quality of payment solutions that MoneyMaster is reputed for in its services to its growing business clientele in private and public sectors.

 


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E-Financial

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is investigating irregular foreign exchange transactions and forward contracts valued at approximately $2.4 billion.

CBN, EFCC Probe Banks, Firms over Alleged Forex Racketeering

The  inquiry follows an extensive audit by Deloitte, which scrutinized $7 billion in dollar debts accumulated under the bank’s previous leadership.

In the aftermath of the 294th Monetary Policy Committee meeting in Abuja, Yemi Cardoso, governor of CBN,  disclosed to journalists that the investigation, supported by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, among other security bodies, aims to clarify the legitimacy of these FX allocations identified as problematic by the audit.

“It was determined that a number of these transactions did not qualify…they were outright illegal. The law enforcement agencies are now looking into those transactions that as far as we are concerned, are not valid to be paid,” Cardoso detailed, emphasizing the unlawful nature of these forex deals.

The crux of the investigation lies in the audit findings that a significant portion of the scrutinized transactions lacked proper documentation and, in many instances, were deemed outright illegal.

However, the unfolding investigation has raised concerns within the organized private sector, with some entities contemplating legal action against commercial banks for unresolved forex bids.

Despite these tensions, Governor Cardoso reassures that the foreign exchange market remains open and transparent, inviting stakeholders to address their forex needs through the official channels.

Furthermore, Cardoso clarified the distribution of fertilizers to farmers as a one-off measure and not indicative of a shift back to direct interventions by the CBN, underscoring a commitment to strategic, regulatory governance rather than direct market involvement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

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Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has directed deposit money banks in the country to expedite action to increase their capital base from the current ₦25bn.

CBN Urges Banks to Expedite Action on Recapitalisation

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN

Olayemi Cardoso, governor of CBN, stated this during the apex bank’s 294th meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on Tuesday in Abuja, when the MPC hiked the interest rate by 22.75% to 24.75%.

The apex bank chief said the MPC examined developments in the banking sector and expressed satisfaction that the industry remained stable. The committee, however, said to guard against risk, commercial banks in the country should accelerate their recapitalisation efforts.

Cardoso said, “The MPC also reviewed developments in the banking system and noted that the industry remains safe, sound, and stable. The committee thus called on the bank to sustain its surveillance and ensure compliance of banks with existing regulatory and macro-potential guidelines.

“The MPC also enjoined the banks to expedite actions on the recapitalisation of banks to strengthen the system against potential risks in an increasingly globalised world.”

 

 

 

 


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