The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,
has asked politicians to leave it alone to concentrate on its work and avoid
dragging it into mudslinging attempts for whatever gain.
Asked to react to the allegation of
the People’s Democratic Party, PDP, that the First Lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari, was
involved in round tripping of foreign exchange, the bank’s spokesman, Mr. Isaac
Okoroafor, told Vanguard that the allegation was, “not only ridiculous but
laughable.”
He asked politicians to avoid
whatever would impact negatively on the reputation of the CBN, as according to
him, any attempt to destroy the bank’s integrity will impact negatively on the
nation’s economy.
His words: “Politicians should spare
this institution from deliberate falsehood because if they destroy the
reputation of the institution, the economy suffers. Politicians should please
allow us to do our job in the interest of the economy.”
According to the spokesman, the
Central Bank does not sell foreign exchange to individuals or companies.
Instead, it sells to banks which sell to their customers.
He said: “With every sense of
responsibility, it is important to state that the Central Bank does not sell
forex to individuals nor companies. You are aware that we sell forex to banks
which in turn sell to their customers. For anyone to say that the CBN sells
forex to individuals or some companies is, indeed, very ridiculous and
mischievous.
“It was very laughable to say that
the CBN sold forex to anyone at N185/$1. The records are there for anyone who
is interested to crosscheck. The CBN has not sold the dollar at N185 in recent
times. The movement of the exchange rate was N155/$1; N168/ $1; and from there
to the current rate of N197/$1.”
Mr. Okoroafor said Nigerians should
disregard what he described as “baseless” and “falsehood” that had been trending
in the social social media.
The PDP, at its twitter handle, had
alleged that Aisha Buhari and her unnamed company had been involved in buying
about $22 million from the CBN at the official rates and selling same at the
black market. She has also denied the allegation on her twitter handle and
threatened legal actions against the PDP.
She said: “Be advised, any further
attempt to malign the person of the wife of the President will be dealt with
according to the law. This is grounds for a lawsuit on defamation of character.
“Making false and unfounded allegations
without proof just to incite Nigerians on social media is wrong.”
Source: Vanguard News
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