Members of the House of Representatives have called for the immediate removal of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over the continuous fall of the naira at the parallel market and his management of the foreign exchange market (Forex)
The clamour for Enefiele’s removal by the legislators emanated from a debate in a motion titled: “Call for Investigation of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Forex Policies” sponsored by Hon. Ali Isa.
In his contribution to the debate, Hon. Mojeed Alabi, expressed dismay that the CBN governor had failed to honour several invitations to appear before the House on some of the nation’s economic policies.
He said: “Over the falling of the naira, the CBN governor and his team should be sacked.”
Also, Hon. Wale Raji, who endorsed the call for Emefiele to go, said Nigeria is the only country that quotes “black market” figures as official.
“Who is in charge of our Forex? Is it the CBN or the black market operators? This is the only country in the world where the black market’s rates are quoted on television sets,” Raji said.
“If Nigeria were to be an ideal country, the CBN governor and his team should be sacked,” the lawmaker said.
The Lower Chamber’s Minority Leader, Hon. Leo Ogor, who opposed the agitation for the CBN governor’s exit, said the Legislature, in conjunction with Executive arm of government, should find a solution to the problem, lamenting that “the only thing we do is to pay lip service to critical issues.”
In his motion, Hon. Isa had observed that despite the weekly releases by the CBN to the Bureau De Change (BDCs) and banks, the value of the naira against the dollar had continued to depreciate.
At the end of the session, the House resolved to setup an ad-hoc committee to interact with the BDCs and other establishments that receive foreign exchange directly from the CBN to give detailed explanation on how they use the forex.
The House adopted the motion after it was put to a voice vote by the Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara.
