Calls for sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed thickens as CBN admits printing money



Daily Post Nigeria
NEWSCalls for sack of Finance Minister, Zainab Ahmed thickens as CBN admits printing moneyPublished on April 17, 2021By Timilehin Abaenogbe

Nigerians have joined the ongoing controversy surrounding the alleged printing of N60 billion by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to support the federal allocation to the three tiers of government for the month of March, 2021, calling on the Federal Government to come out clean by telling Nigerians, not just if it indeed printed the money as alleged but also the real situation with the nation’s economy.

DAILY POST reports that Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State kick-started the controversy, when he alleged, during the Edo transition committee stakeholders engagement in Benin, that the Federal Government had to print N60 billion to support allocation for the month of March.

The governor, who painted a grim picture of the economic situation in the country, said: “Nigeria has changed. The economy of Nigeria is not the same again whether we like it or not. Since the civil war, we have been managing, saying money is not our problem as long as we are pumping crude oil every day. So, we have run a very strange economy and strange presidential system where the local, state and federal government, at the end of the month, go and earn salaries. We are the only country in the world that does that.

“Everywhere else, the government relies on the people to produce taxes and that is what they use to run the local government, state and the federation. But with the way we run Nigeria, the country can go to sleep. At the end of the month, we just go to Abuja, collect money and we come back to spend. We are in trouble, huge financial trouble”, he said.

Not done, Obaseki, released the bomb that has continued to reverberate all over, when he said:“When we got FAAC for March, the Federal Government printed an additional N50-N60bn to top up for us to share. This April, we will go to Abuja and share. By the end of this year, our total borrowing is going to be within N15trn to N16trn.’’

This revelation has continued to upset many, including the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, who both reacted but differently. While the finance minister outrightly denied printing of the said amount and insisted that whatever money was shared came from the country’s revenue, Emefiele tried to be smart by half, without completely admitting or denying but rationalizing such a hugely important national discourse.

In her response, the Minister, Ahmed said the claim by Obaseki was not just false but sad, insisting that the money being shared monthly at FAAC is revenue generated. “The issue that was raised by the Edo State Governor, for me, is very sad because it is not a fact.

“What we distribute at FAAC is a revenue that is generated and in fact, distribution revenue is a public information.

“We publish revenue generated by FIRS, the Customs and the NNPC and we distribute at FAAC.

“So, it is not true to say we printed money to distribute at FAAC. It is not true’, Zainab Ahmed said with a bold face.

However, standing by his claim, Obaseki called out the finance minister, accusing her of playing the Ostrich and the federal government of monetary rascality, in a series of tweets.

Obaseki tweeted: “While we do not want to join issues with the Federal Ministry of Finance, we believe it is our duty to offer useful advice for the benefit of our country.

“The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed should rally Nigerians to stem the obvious fiscal slide facing our country.

“Rather than play the Ostrich, we urge the government to take urgent steps to end the current monetary rascality, so as to prevent the prevailing economic challenge from degenerating further.

“We believe it is imperative to approach the Nigerian project with all sense of responsibility and commitment and not play to the gallery because ultimately, time shall be the judge of us all.”

Emefiele, while trying to rationalise and justify the action of the government, ended up painting a grimmer picture of the state of the economy, even worse than Obaseki had done in his initial allegation.

According to the CBN Governor, it was the job of the CBN to print money and lend it to government, slamming the allegation by Obaseki, which he failed to deny, as “unfortunate and totally inappropriate”.

Insisting that printing is a key mandate of the apex bank, Emefiele said the bank must always act to support the government at times of ‘financial difficulties.’

He said: “If you understand the concept of printing of money. The concept printing of money is about lending money.

“That’s our job – to print. It’s about lending money and so there’s no need putting the controversy about printing of money as if we are going into the factory, printing the Naira and start distributing on the streets.

“For us to see some people playing some games, overheating the polity talking about printing of money, I think it is unfortunate and totally inappropriate. I would like to advise that this should stop. We should all work for the growth of our country and not play politics.

“It is very inappropriate for people to just give some colouration to the word ‘printing of money’ as if it is a foreign word coming from the sky.

“In 2015/2016, we were in a similar [fiscal] situation, but it is far worse today. We provided budget support facility to all the states of the country and that loan remains unpaid till now. We are going to insist on the states paying the loan back since they are effectively accusing us of giving them loans.

“Most countries of the world today are confronted by not just the health crisis from the COVID-19 pandemic but also economic crisis. I keep saying this: it would be irresponsible of the Central Bank of Nigeria or any Central Bank to stand idle and refuse to support its government at this time. Whatever we do in Nigeria is being done in any clime.

“Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation and we cannot pretend about it in the sense that we are facing problems about productivity output which is gross domestic product (GDP). We are working very hard to see how we can get our heads above water. We are also concerned with issues of inflation.”

For Emefiele, printing of money to lend to government for sharing among the three tiers is not a new thing, as he alluded that it had been done in 2015/2016 when the situation was not this bad. He also said it is the same thing that is being done in other countries facing similar challenges.

The question most Nigerians are asking is why the finance minister, Zainab Ahmed denied the allegation. Most of them are worried as to Why she tried to cover up what will eventually become public knowledge with time.

For many Nigerians, Minister Ahmed’s denial only follows what the Nigerian government has been known for over the years; denying the obvious and and painting the picture of an Eldorado that only exists in the minds of government officials and their spin doctors.

According to Oladele Bello, a banker and economic expert, what is happening is obvious, as the current government has tried hard to keep the real situation away from Nigerians, just to hoodwink citizens with fake reports of performance and reeling out numbers that only exist in their imaginations.

“This is not rocket science, the boat of government was rocked by the revelation by Governor Godwin Obaseki. I can tell you for free that they never expected that the printing of the money will become public knowledge, thereby, rocking the boat of the artificial image of performance and robust economy it had always laid claim to.

“The reality is that Nigeria is not just broke but the economy is already in shambles. Government is not generating enough revenue to keep up with what is needed, and they do not want to admit it. We are indeed in trouble with the insatiable appetite of this administration for loans, with those saddled with running the economy constantly telling us that the nation’s debt is still tolerable. How can the debt profile of a country that uses a huge chunk of its budget to service be tolerable? These people qualify to be called Voodoo economists!”, he said.

For Akintoba Olaore, a chattered accountant with an audit firm in the Ikeja area of Lagos, what the federal government did is indefensible, reeks of financial recklessness and portends greater danger for the nation.

Olaore said: “What government did through the CBN cannot be defended at all. It is better government opens up that the nation is in distress and we all will know what has come upon us. I do not think it is right hiding behind one finger, telling Nigerians all is well when nothing is actually well. That’s deception and it will not help this government or Nigerians.

“As it stands, what government has done is concealing the true position of the national economy from Nigerians. It is just like the management or board of a publicly quoted company concealing the true financial position of the company from shareholders. It is a major corporate infraction that can lead to the sacking of the board. Government needs to urgently give a full disclosure of the true situation of the state of the economy and stop living in denial.

“Also, government officials must know that their offices and positions are held in trust for the Nigerian people and they must be accountable to them at all times. The people are their employers and only them deserve their loyalties.”

Also, reacting to the controversy, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), called for the sacking of the Finance Minister for attempting to cover up the printing of the money.

According to the PDP, the admission by the CBN Governor has vindicated it that the apex bank has been printing the nation’s currency at the behest of the Buhari administration and that the government under the APC has been characterized by “concealments, deceit, and falsehood”.

The party said in a statement by its spokesman, Kola Ologbondiyan on Friday: “Indeed, the admission by the CBN governor that “Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation” further justifies our position that the Buhari-led APC administration has wrecked the economy of our nation.

“Our party is worried over the huge negative impact of indiscriminate printing of currency which has led to the unprecedented rise in inflation rate to 18.17% as disclosed by the Federal Bureau of Statistics on Thursday.

“The PDP calls out President Buhari to come clean on the amount that has been printed so far by the CBN to finance the deficit caused by the financial mismanagement of his government as well as what the funds had been used for.

“Furthermore, for failing the full disclosure test, the PDP demands that the Minister of Finance should immediately be relieved of her position, while the President accepts responsibility for the indiscriminate printing of currency in our Naira.

“Our party implores President Buhari to save our nation by allowing better hands to manage and salvage our economy before it is too late.”


https://dailypost.ng/2021/04/17/calls-for-sack-of-finance-minister-zainab-ahmed-thickens-as-cbn-admits-printing-money/

Would we negotiate our way out of Nigeria or would Nigeria crash on our heads?

Can't emefiele be sacked as well?

The minister and the figure heads in CBN should without delay, invite Gov Obaseki for economic town hall tutorials to save Nigeria from imminent danger ahead instead of defensive reactions

Can you imagine and they cannot print money to give to Nigerians during last year Covid-19 lockdown when most Nigerians almost die of hunger. Is this also part of the NEXT LEVEL they promise us?

That's is Next level for you.... Enjoy while it last

My greatest choice for the presence of opposition in any dispensation; no secrets. Obasekii, had he remained in the APC can't reveal this.

even if they dash out 100million or print another 100 billion, the minister will never resign....this is nigarr area, nothing functions here!

Buhari government is just a pure scam

Only quick and divine intervention can save us in the country.

It is a pity, that I am from this place

They quietly print more naira and flood the economy with it because Nigeria is bankrupt and big time inflation hence recession has creeped in.Meanwhile, the chronic liars as usual are frantically trying with utter futility to deny it. This is the kind of abracadabra/voodoo economy they are running. Nigerians brace for impact.

Instead of them to be accountable, own up and resign for deceiving a nation even with glaring truth staring them in the eyes, they resort to denial like the subsidy they have been fraudulently paying for years thinking they are deceiving anyone except themselves.We all know the Nigerian government under Buhari is filled with shameless chronic pathological liars.

Ok

Serious wahala dey. Na cryptocurrency sure pass for this economy. Save whatever thing you can that way

God help our currency so it wont be like that of Zimbabwe.

The woman is really doing a bad job,but trust me she is not moving out from that position anytime soon.


The next thing she will do is to blame someone else,which is the trademark of this present government.

Their right wing branch, I mean the zombies, will tag everyone against her IPOB,and wailers.

If she is smart enough she could play the religious card.In fact,its christian that wants her out.And boom MURIC will be out in his elements.

Maxymilliano:
The minister and the figure heads in CBN should without delay, invite Gov Obaseki for economic town hall tutorials to save Nigeria from imminent danger ahead instead of defensive reactions

When police and dss are formenting trouble, (especially In the SE) like they don't think it will affect IGR

This is the greatest crime against monetary Economics... Emeiefele and the Woman should resign in shame

Jostoman:
Can you imagine and they cannot print money to give to Nigerians during last year Covid-19 lockdown when most Nigerians almost die of hunger. Is this also part of the NEXT LEVEL they promise us?

That is to show you how wicked and heartless our elites are..

Racoon:
They quietly print more naira and flood the economy with it because Nigeria is bankrupt and big time inflation hence recession has creeped in.Meanwhile, the chronic liars as usual are frantically trying with utter futility to deny it as usual. This is the kind of abracadabra/voodoo economy they are running. Nigerians brace for impact.

Instead of them to be accountable, own up and resign for deceiving a nation even with glaring truth staring them in the eyes, they resort to denial like the subsidy they have been fraudulently paying for years thinking they are deceiving anyone except themselves.We all know the Nigerian government under Buhari is filled with shameless chronic pathological liars.

�

These people failed to credit the accounts of suffering Nigerians with donations made during the lockdown. America shared all man money about 1K dollars, Canada shared her citizens 600 dollars. They chop our own. Lock up the palliatives join. Instead of to print money share all man.

We no even know say to print money share to all man dey possible.

God bless Obaseki for exposing them
Abeg make una print money wire am for all man azza. Mad people

This one no be finance minister, this one na OSUSU,
AJO collector, she is the worst person to have held the position in the history of NIGERIA

There no smoke without fire �

Is either one of them lie or the other is telling the truth,

One thing is certainly, the truth will always comes out!!

Clueless people running the country.