The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has rebuffed calls for the resignation of its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, amid naira exchange rate concerns.
Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, a spokesman for the Central Bank of Nigeria, denied calls for the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to resign on Monday evening in Abuja.
“Those behind such calls were only pursuing their selfish agenda, fueled by those who had long profited from rent-seeking practices in the parallel forex market,” Nwanisobi claimed.
Nwanisobi, like the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, refused to acknowledge the parallel FX market as a significant part of the currency market.
“The CBN would not be distracted from its mandate by giving in to the selfish tendencies of a few at the expense of the majority,” he said.
As a result, he “urged the banking public to disregard claims aimed at tarnishing the CBN’s reputation.”
He reaffirmed the CBN’s commitment to carrying out its mandate for the benefit of Nigerians.
“The CBN remains committed to meeting the foreign exchange requests of travelers with legitimate needs as they relate to travel allowances, tuition and medical fees, among other invisibles,” Nwanisobi added.
He stated that there was sufficient foreign exchange availability for banks to meet reasonable foreign exchange demands.
“No customer requiring foreign exchange for genuine transactions will be turned back by their banks,” Nwanisobi said.
He recommended the banking public to “insist on having their rights respected as long as they have all of the necessary documents to validate their request.”
“The CBN would not hesitate to approve foreign exchange for customers with legitimate demands that exceed transaction limits, provided the application is supported by specified requirements,” the official said.
Nwanisobi reiterated the apex bank’s decision “not to revisit the issue of foreign exchange allocation to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators,” claiming that “such a practice was not sustainable in the long run, considering that many of the BDCs had since deviated from the purpose for which they were issued licenses in the first place.”
“The rate in the CBN-unrecognized parallel market was not the reference rate of the Naira,” he emphasized, warning Nigerians to be aware of speculators seeking to manipulate the market for unpatriotic purposes.