CBN Working Against Buhari’s Ministers- Osinbajo

By Fola James

Yemi Osinbajo, Nigeria’s vice president has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN to be more open in its operations as ministers in Buhari’s administration simply “have no line of sight on what is going on, on one side,” of the apex bank.

Osinbajo’s comment, analysts say, is likely to generate furore in the government where appointees of the president have been accused of working at cross purposes.

The vice president who made the comment at the midterm retreat of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second tenure, suggested the CBN and ministers are not working in synergy, noting that the apex bank has been meddling on the fiscal side of the economy which is supposed to be the responsibility of cabinet ministers.

He also urged the CBN Governor , Godwin Emefiele to devalue the naira as the current exchange rate is artificial and discouraging foreign investors. The naira is exchange for N411 to the American Dollar CBN official rate, while the Greenback as the US Dollar is called, is exchanged for N565 at the parallel market.

Osinbajo said “There must be synergy between the fiscal and the monetary authority. We must be able to deal with the synergy, we must handle the synergy between the monetary authority, the CBN, and the fiscal side.

“Sometimes, it appears that there is competition, especially on the fiscal side. If you look at some of the interventions, you will find that those interventions are interventions that should be managed by ministries.

“The ministry of industry, trade and investment should handle MSMEs interventions, and we should know what the CBN is doing. In other words, if the CBN is intervening in the MSME sector, it should be with the full cooperation and consent of the ministry of industry.

“Sometimes you will get people who are benefiting more than once because we simply have no line of sight on what is going on, on one side.”

On the exchange rate, Osinbajo said, “I think we need to move our rates to [be] as reflective of the market as possible. This, in my own respective view, is the only way to improve supply,” Osinbajo said.

“We can’t get new dollars into the system, where the exchange rate is artificially low. And everyone knows by how much our reserves can grow. I’m convinced that the demand management strategy currently being adopted by the CBN needs a rethink, and that is just my view.

Meanwhile, critics of the administration said Osinbajo’s comment signposts the polarisation among Buhari’s appointees at a critical time that they need to work together to move the country forward, particularly on the economic front.