PRESIDENTIAL candidate of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi has said fiscal rascality, rather than Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele, is responsible for Nigeria’s monetary problems.
He disclosed this while fielding questions on the leadership and independence of the CBN governor at Chatham House in the United Kingdom on Monday, January 16.
Obi was asked if he would sack or retain Emefiele if elected President in the 2023 general elections.
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Responding, he said, “Let me assure you, the Central Bank of Nigeria will maintain its independence. It will be respected. Again, it is not the problem of the person there. The cause is a weak governance structure.
“Replacing Godwin Emefiele and putting somebody with that level of fiscal rascality, which is what is fueling our inflation and our rate of exchange today. As long as the government continues on that fiscal rascality, that situation will occur.”
He also noted that fiscal rascality was reflected in payment of unsustainable subsidy on petrol, a situation which he described as criminal.
“Nigeria is today the only oil nation apart from Venezuela, because of sanctions, that is not meeting up its quota because over the years of oil theft, the multinationals have not been investing. Coupled with the theft and everything we are not realising what we are supposed to.
“Every other nation that is in the same condition was able to bring down their rates and inflation within this period of Ukraine war. But we couldn’t take that advantage because of poor management of our own fiscal space, which will change with Datti and I,” he said.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.