BY VICTOR BUORO, ABUJA – The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria Mr Godwin Emefiele on Friday put to rest the controversy surrounding the printing of Naira notes, saying that it is the duty of the apex bank to print money but quickly added that any money printed is loan to the government.
This is as the CBN Governor declared that Nigeria is unfortunately in a very bad situation which he does not want to pretend about it, stressing that the nation is facing problem of productivity output which is GDP. Emefiele further said that printing of the Naira notes, in economic parlance is nothing other than giving loans to the government.
The CBN governor said that Nigeria just managed to come out of serious economic difficulty with a hairsbreadth, adding that the government through the CBN is working to see how not only to have its head above water but get its waist above water.
In the words of Emefiele; “We are also confronted by issues of inflation and prices and the rest of them and so for us to begin to see that some people playing some games and trying to come up with overheating the polity, talking about printing of money. I think it is very unfortunate and totally inappropriate.
“For instance, some years back, the CBN printed money and advanced loans to the 36 states to pay salaries so that they can be afloat,” the CBN governor said.
Emefiele, who was reacting to allegations by Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State that the Federal Government printed about N60 billion to balance up the March 2021 Federal Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), distributed to the three tiers of government, said that the CBN is going to insist on the States paying back the monies since they are accusing the apex bank of giving them loans and printing money.
The CBN governor further said; “Most countries in the world today are confronted not only by the challenges coming from the COVID-19 pandemic, but other issues causing economic crisis and the rest of them.
“What I keep saying is that it will be irresponsible for the CBN or any other federal reserve bank to stand idle and refuse to support its government at this time and what is being done is being done in any clime,” Emefiele insists.
