Group accuses CBN of forex trading manipulation, plans protest on Friday

A Civil Society Group, The Wailing Wailers, has alleged that there were sharp practices of foreign exchange (forex) racketeering at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and that its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was manipulating forex trading and illegally funding of the Federal Government budget and thereby short-changing the banks operating in the country of their reserve ratio at the expense of the masses.

The group’s Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Fasipe Oluyemi, in a press statement on Wednesday said that its members and other Nigerians would be embarking on a peaceful protest tagged, #OCCUPYCBN, to condemn the alleged illegalities at the apex bank on Friday.

“We wholeheartedly call on the good people of Nigeria to come out en mass for a protest (#OccupyCBN) to stop this impunity: the Fraudulent Forex Trading, Round Tripping and racketeering going on in the Central Bank of Nigeria aided by its Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele and bring to an end the Manipulation of Forex, illegally funding Federal Government budget, short-changing the Money Deposit Bank’s reserve ratio at the expense of the Masses as the abuse of internal process is unbearable as the economy is negatively impacted and the resultant effects on the Nigerian masses is already at a dangerous level.”

Accusing Emefiele, the statement reads:  “The high level of impunity and rascality overlooked and/or condoned by the Nigerian people in the past without taking action has made the apex bank’s top executives to continue to engage in abuse of office, breach of trust, abuse of process and manipulation of the Economy.”

“Recall that the apex bank’s top management carried out a backdoor recruitment exercise for the children of high profile Nigerian politicians, business men, in which the door was shut against the children of an average Nigerian who may have been qualified to work in the bank on merit base and were not allowed, but, the employment was freely handed to the children of friends and families of those in Government.

“The act stirred and raised anger amongst Nigerians, yet there was no punitive action or consequences against the perpetrators at the CBN because, the people overlooked the situation.

“It is rather sad that the poor masses who most of time supports the government to ensure good and robust revenue, peace and stability are the ones who always get shut out when it comes to benefits even in a so called democratic government.

“We ordinarily imagined that the government of President Buhari whose campaign fulcrum was on anti graft, anti corruption will expose this all round, all sector massive corruption and impunity, but, alas, it is looking the other way to the astonishment of all and sundry.

“Since the emergence of the administration of President Buhari, Forex Trading has been illegally turned to an exclusive business of the friends and family of those in power as against the principle of banking which allows for professionalism in trading and ensuring circulation to the business community for import and export of goods and services that will have direct positive impact on the economy and the people.

“We have again taught that the CBN will allow a level playing ground for all real stakeholders especially business community to access FOREX for trading, but they have aided the government cronies to horde it, and make it very expensive for them to in turn make huge profits upon trading. These are the factors that have made the prices of goods and services in the country to be very high and expensive, most times unaffordable.

“We shudder at the high impunity and knavery at which the CBN has carried on this illegality in this dispensation, playing lip service to the change mantra of Buhari’s government. This is another clear demonstration that the government and the CBN is double mouthed, playing double standards about corruption-free Nigeria.

“Matter of fact, the CBN is like a mother who openly shows love and care to her baby who is corruption by selling dollar at 304 naira to friends and families of Buhari led government and selling at 480naira to the commoners who are also carrying out forex trading. Many of these Buhari’s cronies make over N2 billion profit per trading which is sometimes on a daily basis

“There is no other name to call what is going on in the Central Bank other than corruption. This is perpetrated to foist Buhari’s led government by allowing his friends and family to illegally divert funds, amass wealth in preparation ahead of 2019 elections to enable them have much more money that will be more than enough for them to control the poor people, manipulate and rig the elections to his favour without batting an eye.

“Therefore it is with great love for our dear nation that we passionately call on fellow Nigerians to come out en mass on Friday 13th of January, 2017 by 9am for a mass protest against the high handedness and impunity of corrupt officers in the Central Bank, so as to call the CBN to order and stop this deleterious evil for its perniciousness and harmfulness to our nation, as we must stop the CBN from continuing in this impunity, fraud, money laundering, corruption and wickedness and make life better and easy for an average Nigerian. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”