By Abimbola Ogunnaike
Central Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, is currently at the Presidential Villa in Abuja for a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu, whose vehicle entered the villa at 2:30pm, inspected a parade by the Guards of Honour and was later received by Vice-President Kashim Shettima; Emefiele; Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL); Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar.
Former Lagos Finance Commissioner, Wale Edun and a House of Reps member, James Faleke, were also at the villa.
In his inaugural address on Monday, 29 May, 2023,Tinubu had charged the apex bank to work towards a unified exchange rate, just as he had also vowed to review the naira redesign policy of the former administration which was implemented by the CBN.
“Monetary policy needs thorough house cleansing. The Central Bank must work towards a unified exchange rate. This will direct funds away from arbitrage into meaningful investment in the plant, equipment and jobs that power the real economy.
“Interest rates need to be reduced to increase investment and consumer purchasing in ways that sustain the economy at a higher level. Whatever merits it had in concept, the currency swap was too harshly applied by the CBN given the number of unbanked Nigerians,” Tinubu said, adding that “The policy shall be reviewed. In the meantime, my administration will treat both currencies as legal tender.”
This is the third president that Emefiele would work with.
Appointed by ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, Emefiele also worked with immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari who reappointed him.
