The much touted protest march against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has again flopped. The convener of the protest march, one Deji Adeyanju had arrived at the proposed take-off point at about 8.30am with about 17 placard carrying young men and women.
The protesters are pressurizing the CBN to allow the Naira to float and to abolish the list of 41 items not eligible for foreign exchange through the inter-bank foreign exchange market.
Having waited for about half an hour and getting wearied without a meaningful number to carry on with the protest, the gathering started to thin out just before 10.00am.
When approached by this reporter to comment on the purpose of the protest, the leader of the group, Deji Adeyanju said while not blaming the apex Bank for the current situation in the country that their mission was to seek explanation from the authorities of the apex Bank on the economic challenges confronting the country presently.
In particular, the group demanded for the complete floating of the Naira in the foreign exchange market so the currency will find its true value and to scrap of the 41 items excluded from the interbank foreign exchange window.
When contacted, the spokesman of the Bank, Mr Isaac Okorafor, dismissed the demands of the group saying that they were being sponsored by unpatriotic and self-serving individuals who never wished the country well.
Mr Okorafor expressed delight that Nigerians have since realized the antics of those selfish individuals as enemies of Nigerians whose sole aim is to fulfill their ulterior motives. He took a swipe at them on the ground that the same set of people had canvassed for floating of the foreign exchange market in 2016 on the ground that investors would funds. How much of foreign exchange have they brought come into the country since June 2016 when the Naira was allowed to float to its current range, he asked.
“Rather than joining the CBN and other agencies of government to take out the country out of the current situation, they are busy sponsoring gullible groups to protest”, he further noted.
Mr Okorafor however appealed to all Nigerians to persevere and show understanding of the country’s economic challenges.
He also warned that allowing the Naira to float would severely hurt the welfare of ordinary Nigerians. He also noted that abolishing the list of the 41 items would mean destroying the livelihood of millions of Nigerian farmers and genuine manufactuers who have made huge investments in the cultivation and local manufacturing of those importable items.
