By Ebriku John Friday
The Coalition of Civil Society Group (CCSG), Wednesday, condemned claim by the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, over alleged printing of N60 billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, for March allocation to States.
This was contained in an address by the President, CCG, Bassey Etuk Williams, and Secretary, CCG, Abubakar Ibrahim, at a media conference, where the group described the claim as being orchestrated by enemies of government just to whittle down the confidence Nigerians have in the Buhari-led administration.
The group also said the claim by Obaseki and others are mere distractions, which is not needed at this time when the country is facing much insecurity and hunger.
The group said: “We have watched with keen interest overtime, and we won’t be doing justice to the entire nation if we don’t make effort to disabuse the minds of our citizens on the falsehood been peddled around by some individuals for political gains and to distract the government. It is unfortunate and we condemn the political dimension the issue has taking.
“The issues raised by Gov. Obaseki and others; alleging that N60 billion was printed by CBN and the Federal Government to augment for the March, 2021 FAAC allocation, is orchestrated by enemies of Government just to whittle down the confidence Nigerians have in the government and her effort to invigorate the economy.
“After our due consultations and enquiries, our Group discovered that the allegation was just falsehood capable of distorting progress recorded and as campaign to smear the effort of a performing Governor of the CBN.
“Reports made available to us reveals that going by the money FAAC share, the funds are monies generated and domiciled in the federation account, and is usually shared to the states every month.
“There was no evidence that the March allocation was borrowed which contradicts the claims of those saying March allocation money was printed.
“We further discovered that all the states owe the CBN. These monies are bailout funds given to them to cushion the effects of the difficulties experienced by the governors in their bid to deliver on good governance.
“We don’t need such distractions at this time when the country is facing much insecurity and hunger in the country. We need patriotic interventions and we equally expect progressive contributions towards developing and governing the Nigerian polity.
“We condemn the falsehood and the controversy been generated; this is not what we need at a time like now.”
Meanwhile, the group urged Nigerians to jettison claims against the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, “We humbly call on all Nigerians to support the effort of the government, and in particular the CBN governor.
“We plead with you to jettison all form of proclivities and reject this falsehood for the interest of Nigeria.”
The group also commended Governor of CBN over policies and programmes the Apex Bank is currently driving to reposition and sustain the economy following major interventions that it has made for the economy to keep running despite challenges.
“We salute the courage of the CBN Governor for rising to the occasion and quickly correcting the wrong notion been expressed by nay sayers.
“We hope that this matter has been put to rest by that singular sincere and patriotic disposition and effort of the CBN Governor and we implore the state governors to pay back.
“We have followed the activities of the Governor CBN especially during the covid-19 pandemic; we applaud his effort, policies and programmes embarked upon to cushion the effect of the pandemic.
“Governor Emefiele has also backed up his pledge to facilitate job creation with the creation of the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), which is being implemented in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee.
“Without equivocation, Emefiele’s contribution to the development and growth of the Nigerian economy, as well as innovations in development financing is worth celebrating.
“He has encouraged the diversification of the economy and stimulate growth in the agriculture sector in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan, he put in place an innovative Agric credit plan: Anchor Borrowers Programme and this has increased yield per hectare.
“He stabilized the Naira and put the economy on a right footing. And his effort has pulled the country out of recession.
“CBN Governor has embarked on other policies such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP), Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS), the Agri-business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) all in an effort to build a strong economy”, it stated.
