Amaka Obiefuna

Nigeria’s Central Bank, the CBN has restated its commitment to policies that will take Nigeria out of recession, this is coming after a planned protest ‘Ocupy-CBN’ is beginning to fail.

Deji Adeyanju, the convener of the protest was said to have 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.
At around 10:00am, having waited for about half an hour without a meaningful number to carry on with the protest, the gathering started to thin out. Adeyanju, obviously disappointed by the turnout of the event, said while not blaming the apex Bank for the current situation in the country, their mission was to seek an explanation from the authorities of the apex Bank on the economic challenges confronting the country presently.
In particular, the group demanded the complete floating of the Naira in the foreign exchange market so the currency will find its true value and a scrap of the 41 items excluded from the interbank foreign exchange window.

CBN spokesman, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, dismissed the demands of the group saying that they were sponsored by unpatriotic and self-serving individuals who never wished the country well.
Okorafor expressed delight that Nigerians have since realized the antics of those selfish individuals as enemies of Nigerians whose sole aim is to fulfil 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 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.