The hullabaloo and call for the Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele to resign is largely due to the fact that the Governor has been telling half truths, especially with regards to the free fall of the Naira against convertible currencies.
Those in the know regard Emefiele as a kill-joy or, if you like, a saboteur in the Buhari Economic Management Team.
Unfortunately, the Finance Minister who is supposedly the person coordinating the economy gives Emefiele the latitude and freedom to speak on matters about the economy and exchange rates because he is being regarded as a seasoned banker having been picked by the Goodluck Jonathan administration from Zenith Bank to become CBN Governor.
Those who know and believe that he is camouflaging his true identity as a card carrying PDP member have for long called for his removal, recalling his role in the campaign by the Organized Private Sector (OPS), mostly bankers to raise N5Billion in 2013 for the reelection of Jonathan in 2015.
The group was chaired by Chief Jim Ovia, the major shareholder of Zenith Bank who facilitated Emefiele’s appointment by Jonathan in 2014.
Now when Emefiele came up with what he considered facts behind the fluctuation of the Naira and targeted speculators in the forex business, he forgot that the Outward Money Transfer Service law which he introduced in August 2014 which made Nigeria the only country in the world that re-export diaspora remittances.
The Outward Money Transfer Service authorized Western Union and Money Gram to re-export, in tranches of $5,000 per transaction, to Nigerians abroad, at the payment of the Naira equivalent at the CBN rate.
What this means is that Diaspora remittances made by Nigerians abroad which is supposed to stabilize our exchange rates are not retained in Nigeria but re-exported through a collaboration between the CBN, Nigerian Banks and Western Union/Money Gram.
Nigerian banks are the major beneficiaries from this fraudulent practice.
The naira is not a convertible currency but remittances from Diaspora which is meant to boost our exchange rates if retained in the currencies they are remitted are criminally laundered by Nigerian banks through Western Union and Money Gram with the CBN collaboration.
The Banks are the same operators of the Bureau de Change in Nigeria since the introduction of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) denied them the luxury of keeping and trading with monies belonging to MDAs.
These facts are what our exchequer is not making public.
Those calling for his resignation are aware of the enormous damage his unpatriotic behaviour has done to the economy but his luck is that the president is not used to disposing his appointees until he finds sufficient evidence to do so.
One good thing this time around is that a former Minister of Finance, Chief Anthony Ani has written about the fraudulent practice going on between the banks, CBN and the Western Union and Money Gram.
Let’s hope the highest authority will look into this and act.
Wole Arisekola writes from Ibadan