Spokesman of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Osita Nwanisobi has fingered those he described as being neck-deep in rent-seeking practices in the parallel forex market as responsible for the recent call on the Governor of the apex bank, Godwin Emefiele to resign.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Monday evening, Osita Nwanisobi said that those behind such calls are only pursuing their selfish agenda.
He emphasized that the Governor’s refusal to recognize such practices as significant segment of the country’s forex market infuriated such people.
He made it clear that CBN would not be distracted in its mandate and would therefore not yield to the selfish tendencies of a few to the detriment of the majority.
He therefore called on the banking public to disregard claims aimed at impugning the reputation of the Bank, insisting that the Bank remained committed to carrying out its mandate for the good of the Nigerian people.
Osita Nwanisobi also assured that the CBN remains committed to meeting the foreign exchange request of travelers with legitimate needs as they relate to travel allowances, payment of tuition and medical fees among other invisibles.
He said that there is enough supply of foreign exchange to the banks to meet legitimate demands for foreign exchange.
Osita Nwanisobi insisted that no customer requiring foreign exchange for genuine transactions would be turned back by their banks, even as he advised the banking public to insist on their rights to be attended to as long as they possess all the requisite documents to validate their request.
On the willingness of the Bank to meet the demands of customers, the spokesman said that the CBN would not hesitate to approve foreign exchange for customers with legitimate demands that exceed transaction limit insofar as the application is supported with specified requirements.
He restated the decision of the Bank not to revisit the issue of allocation of foreign exchange to the operators of Bureau de Change (BDC), adding that such a practice is 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 instance.
He insisted that the rate in the CBN-unrecognized parallel market is not the reference rate of the Naira, even as he called on Nigerians to be wary of the activities of speculators who sought to manipulate the market for unpatriotic reasons.
