The Buhari Media Organisation (BMO) has expressed surprise that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) could accuse Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele of incompetence and partisanship.
The group said in a statement signed by its Chairman Niyi Akinsiju and Secretary Cassidy Madueke that it is shameful that a party who fished Emefiele out from the private sector and appointed him as CBN Governor could turn around to disparage him as being partisan.
“We consider it strange that the former ruling party could descend to the level of using the sorts of words the PDP used in its attempt to tarnish the reputation of someone it considered good enough to head the Central Bank.
“Here is a man who President Muhammadu Buhari had no problem retaining on assuming office because of his competence inspite of the manner PDP literally turned the CBN into an ATM for slush funds back then.
“We wonder what the opposition party knows about even basic economy to conclude that a banker of Godwin Emefiele’s stature is not competent to hold the office of the CBN governor and should therefore resign.
“Our poser for PDP is, at what point did the PDP reach a conclusion on Emefiele’s competence for the job? Was it when he served in the Goodluck Jonathan-led administration or after?
“Or does the PDP think Nigerians have forgotten so soon how a National Security Adviser (NSA) got $40m from the Central Bank in one night, under its watch?”
The group noted that under the same CBN Governor President Buhari opted to retain in office, the Bank is doing far more than it has ever done in its history.
“We invite Nigerians to compare between a CBN that was PDP’s slush fund ATM and constantly teleguided by government, to one that is today giving small and medium scale business owners unfettered access to funds.
“Aside from issuing a directive to commercial banks on a minimum of 65% loan to deposit ratio, the CBN has paved the way for more than N3.5 trillion in financing to be channelled to manufacturing and agriculture, as well as personal and households consumption, a first time in the history of financial mediation by money deposit banks.
“it is also a fact that the CBN has been active in development financing and is giving direct credit for the reactivation of our once comatose agricultural sector which has led to the reduction of the $23billion we spent on food imports annually by more than 70%.
“This was primarily under the auspices of the Anchors Borrowers Programme (ABP) through which the Central Bank has since disbursed N120 billion to small holder farmers, especially rice farmers. Today, this has turned the country into Africa’s largest producer of rice.
“For the avoidance of doubt, President Buhari is the only President since 1999 who decided to retain appointees from the previous administration in office and we won’t be surprised if PDP castigates the others for doing better at the same jobs the former ruling party considered them competent for”.
BMO urged Nigerians to disregard a party that sees nothing wrong in demonizing a public office holder it introduced into government for doing his job well.