Why CBN’ ll Not Allow Naira To Float Or Return 41 Items To FOREX- Spokesman

Spokesman of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Isaac Okorafor, has said that one of the reasons why the apex bank would not allow the Naira to float as being agitated for by some Nigerians is to address the current economic recession.
Okorafor, who was reacting to a group of Nigerians who embarked on failed protest aimed at pressurizing the CBN to allow the Naira to float and to abolish the list of 41 items not eligible for foreign exchange through the inter-bank foreign exchange market, dismissed such demands, saying that they are unpatriotic and self-serving.

“Rather than joining the CBN and other agencies of government to take out the country out of the current situation, they are busy sponsoring gullible groups to protest.”
He warned that allowing the Naira to float would severely hurt the welfare of ordinary Nigerians, adding that abolishing the list of the 41 items would also mean destroying the livelihood of millions of Nigerian farmers and genuine manufacturers who have made huge investments in the cultivation and local manufacturing of those importable items.
Okorafor expressed happiness with Nigerians who have since realized the antics of those he called selfish individuals whose sole aim is to fulfill their ulterior motives.
He said that these are the same set of people who had canvassed for floating of the foreign exchange market in 2016 on the ground that investors would funds and asked: “how much of foreign exchange have they brought into the country since June 2016 when the Naira was allowed to float to its current range.”
He appealed to Nigerians to persevere and show understanding of the country’s economic challenges.
Earlier today, Friday, the protest march against CBN, convened by one Deji Adeyanju flopped as people he expected to join him at the proposed take-off point at about 8.30am with about 17 placard carrying young men and women failed to turn up.
Speaking on the failed protest, Adeyanju still blamed the apex Bank for the current situation in the country.
He said that his mission was to seek explanation from the authorities from the apex Bank on the economic challenges confronting the country presently.
The group demanded complete floating of the Naira in the foreign exchange market so that the currency will find its true value and to scrap off the 41 items excluded from the interbank foreign exchange window. [myad]