•Tinubu and Cardoso
A rights group, Nigerian Unemployed Youth Vanguard, has asked President Bola Tinubu to immediately restructure the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) while describing as unbearable, the harsh economic condition being inflicted on Nigerians by some policies of the apex bank.
Addressing journalists in Abuja today, the duo of Comrades Danesi Momoh and Igwe Ude-Umanta, National Coordinator and Director of Programmes respectively, maintained that the management of Nigeria’s economic crisis as it stands now is far beyond the competency of Olayemi Cardoso to fix.
Danesi Momoh, specifically stated that the group would mobilize its members nationwide and Nigerians for a protest if Cardoso is not removed, reports Nigerian Tribune.
The group disclosed that it had to momentarily shelve its initial planned protest some obvious reasons, chief amongst which was the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) protest and the need to analyse the Communiqué of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) and see what is probably new.
“Sadly, concerning the outcome of the MPC, we are even more worried because it appears that it is the same knee-jerk method of solution provision that has become the trademark of the CBN.
“We wish that they were better assurances that raising the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) holds they key to addressing inflation, when it is clear that it will automatically affect borrowing for long-term investments. It is left to be seen how businesses will thrive with 22.75% interest rates.
“Another very sad outcome of the MPC meeting was the nauseating prevention of journalists from asking questions and interrogating very important economic decisions from the MPC.
“It reconfirmed our fear that Mr Olayemi Cardoso is completely averse to critical engagement. If this is not a clear manifesting of incompetence, then it must arrogance of failure. Both are administrative vices, which should not be condoned by somebody who perhaps is leading the country to an economic Golgotha”, the group stated.
Even through the Naira has recorded some appreciable gains against the dollar in the last few days, the group insisted that the steps taken to achieve that were not sustainable and that it would be foolhardy for Nigerians to rejoice yet.
According to the group, “Due to a number of fire brigade approaches, the Naira has gained an appreciable strength against the dollar, moving from N1960 penultimate week to N1440 as at yesterday. Ordinarily, it should be cheering news that the Naira will continue to appreciate.
“The problem, however, is that the number of measures responsible for this appreciation are not sustainable. They are not based on clearly thought-out policy (ies) but a reaction to a near economic pandemic,” the group stated.
According to the group, the CBN leadership is never serious about reviving the ailing economy, stressing that the policies it has introduced has only brought about hardship occasioned by hyperinflation.
The group which prides herself as being at the forefront of championing campaign for the empowerment of Nigerian youths, especially the teeming population of the unemployed through advocacy and policy engagements maintained that the call became imperative after a critical review of the policies and programmes of the CBN under Mr. Olayemi Cardoso without any clear solution in sight.
