NANS Seeks Emefiele’s Sacking Over Naira Depreciation
THE National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West Zone, has bemoaned the continuous depreciation of the naira to the United States dollar.
In a statement, Friday, signed by the zone’s Coordinator, Adegboye Olatunji, and the Chairmen of the Joint Campus Committees of Ogun, Lagos, Ondo and Oyo states; Kehinde Damilola, Olusesi Tolulope, Omotosho Surprise and Adeleke Quadri respectively, the student body noted that it had become necessary to address the “ineffectiveness and inefficiency of those appointed by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to be in charge of the economy of the nation.”
The statement read partly, “It is rather unfortunate that the basis of the society which is the economy, in itself, has been destroyed such that it is now impossible for Nigerians to live by legal means since their earnings can no longer fetch them anything.
“The value of the naira in exchange at the international market has now become so worthless. No thanks to the incompetency of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, and the failure of his counterpart serving as the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed.
“As the naira now exchanges for one dollar at N710, it is expected that this duo should resign from office with shame and bid public office goodbye forever. The effect of their incompetence on the lives of Nigerians is that the little stipend paid as minimum wage is no longer sustainable.”
They maintained that at this critical time, it was expected that the Ministry of Finance and the CBN would take serious, the adequate enforcement of the Act that reserved the naira as the only means of exchange within the Nigerian territory.
“Dollar cannot continue to fly around in our domestic market and transacted by black market operators while we anticipate any growth to the value of the naira. We know that the enforcement of this Act will make it difficult for Emefiele, Ahmed, and their fellow politicians to launder money and do votes purchase as was evident in the primary elections of the All Progressives Congress and the Peoples Democratic Party.
“We do not need to emphasise that the value of our naira will continue to fall as long as Nigeria remains an importing nation with no export products. More than ever before, this is the time for the Nigerian economy to be redirected as a pro-people economy where the priority in governmental decisions would be the workers and masses of the country.
NANS said that reasonable, efficient and competent people must be put in charge of the economy of the country if the country must progress economically and have value for our national currency.