The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has described recent calls for the resignation of the Governor, Godwin Emefiele over the spike in the exchange rate as lacking in substance. Spokesman of the apex bank, Osita Nwanisobi, has dismissed the calls as distracting.
In a statement on Tuesday, Nwanisobi alleged that those behind such calls were only pursuing their selfish agenda. According to him, the agenda is being fueled by those who had long benefitted from rent-seeking practices in the parallel forex market.
Nwanisobi said the CBN would not be distracted in its mandate by yielding to the selfish tendencies of a few to the detriment of the majority.
He urged 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.
Nwanisobi also assured that the CBN remained committed to meeting the foreign exchange request of travelers with legitimate needs as they related to travel allowances, payment of tuition and medical fees among other invisible.
He noted that there was enough supply of foreign exchange to the banks to meet legitimate demands for foreign exchange.
Nwanisobi, who insisted that no customer requiring foreign exchange for genuine transactions would be turned back by their banks, urged the banking public to insist on their rights to be attended to as long as they possessed all the requisite documents to validate their request.
Reiterating the stance of the CBN Governor on the willingness of the Bank to meet the demands of customers, the spokesman said the CBN would not hesitate to approve foreign exchange for customers with legitimate demands that exceeded transaction limit as long as the application was supported with specified requirements.
