Tony Okafor,Awka
A civil society organisation, Leadership Orientation and Basic Rights Advocacy Centre (LOBRAC) has challenged politicians criticizing the current demonitization policy of the Central Bank Nigeria( CBN) to halt their criticism till after the February 25 presidential election as means of demonstrating sincerity.
In a public enlightenment event held in Awka Anambra State, Executive Director of the group, Stanley Okafor( a lawyer) alleged that criticism of the demonitization policy was peddled by politicians whose plan of rigging the elections with black money had been hammered by the new policy.
“We challenge these politicians including those who are trodding in and out of the courts to hold their challenge of the current demonitization till after the presidential election, and if after that they sustain their action, we can be sure that it is altruistic other than selfish”
The lawyer who berated Kaduna State governor Nasiru El Rufai for derogating Nollywood actors in his reference to one of the presidential candidate argued that the governors who were spearheading the court challenges to the policy were conscripts of the Kaduna governor.
Okafor said, “Governor Nasiru El Rufai has earned an unenviable reputation of instigating national controversies wheneve he acts or speaks, and for him to allege anti party activities from inside Aso Rock was indiscrete and wrongly considered.”
Continuing, Okafor said Section 20(3) of the CBN Act did not make the responsiblity of the CBN to recall the national currency dependent on directive of the President as a community reading of all provisions of Act showed intendment of the draftsman to make the CBN independent.
“The active word in that provision is IF and that is not peremptory. It would have been different if the wordings of the provision were ” When directed to do so by the president”. Therefore the emphasis on power of the bank in that provision only shows the intendment of the draftsman to preserve the autonomy of the bank other than have its powers donated by the President”.
In his contribution, Dr Ken Ezejiokoye, an economist, observed that demonetization usually would come with economic shocks that would abate in the long run, and therefore urged patience in the circumstance.
Another lawyer, Obinnaya Asiegbu said the Central Bank under the CBN Act of 2007 had performed its statutory role and ought not be harassed for that.
