Nigeria’s Central Bank has become the laughing stock of the civilised world.
The hapless Governor Godwin Emefiele in the latest exposed scandal was said to have dispensed political favours through job offers to select sons and daughters of Nigerian politicians including the President, former Vice president Atiku Abubakar, the Inspector General of Police, the Minister of Interior and many others.
According to Sahara Reporters:
“A list of at least 91 people tied to influential or highly placed Nigerians who were recently offered juicy appointments by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in a hiring process that was highly secretive.
The list of beneficiaries of the CBN’s job largesse include a daughter of former Vice President Abubakar Atiku, a son of Mamman Daura, a nephew of President Muhammadu Buhari and one of the closest members of the president’s inner circle, a son of the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, a daughter of former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Ghali Na’aba, also daughter of the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, a since of the Minister of Internal Affairs, Abdurahman Danbazzau and at least 86 others.”
The report continues:
“The CBN Governor had started the practice of using job offers to woo top government officials since Mr. Buhari came into power on May 29, 2015. One source revealed that, in September 2015, Mr. Emefiele had hired Claire Arase, a daughter of Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase.
Sahara Reporters learnt that the CBN often went to great lengths, including tweaking the names of recruits, in order to hide the identities of beneficiaries of politically motivated recruitment. Often the CBN used the beneficiaries’ first names and their father’s middle names to hide their real identities. For instance, the bank listed Maryam Atiku as “Maryam Abubakar.” In another case, the bank entered the name of the son of Nigeria’s Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau, as “Nagode Abdulrahman.” In other instances, the bank used the maiden names of hired persons instead of their married names.
The recruitments are deemed irregular because the CBN failed to advertise the vacancies in order to allow opportunities to all qualified Nigerians to apply for the jobs. In addition, the bank’s “political” recruitments did not follow principles of federal character set out for employment by government agencies and other public institutions.”
It has become obvious to any discerning person that the CBN Governor Emefiele has become more concerned with pleasing the President and other top politicians than facing the job of macro stability.
Emefiele’s disastrous fixed exchange rate policy has wrought tremendous harm to the Nigerian economy while producing very little or dubious benefits at best.
In an unprecedented move 2 former CBN Governors Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and Chukwuma Soludo have come out publicly to criticise Emefiele.
Meanwhile Nigeria’s misery index keeps rising.
Inflation in Nigeria has risen to 11.4 percent the highest in 3 years while growth has fallen to the lowest levels since 1999.
Manufacturing is in recession and up to 80,000 manufacturing jobs are at risk according to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce.
In essence Emefiele’s policy of fixed exchange rates have brought none of the stated upsides (keeping a lid on inflation), while leaving only the downside.
Amidst all the woe, the man at the helm of the CBN seems only intent on saving his job.
The hard won credibility of the CBN has been jettisoned while mediocrity is now the order of the day.
It is obvious the current state of affairs at the CBN is no longer tenable.
It is time for Mr President to show Emefiele the door if the Governor refuses to do the honourable thing and resign.
The post above and its ensuing comments, if any, is purely the opinion of the writer(s). It therefore should never be considered as an investment advise of any sort. If required, readers should please consult a competent professional financial adviser for any investment decision.