From Okwe Obi, Abuja
Nigeria Young Professionals Forum (NYPF), has backed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for the redesigning the new naira notes.
It described as unnecessary the harassment and attempt to force the CBN Governor to extend the currency swap deadline or reverse the redesign policy, adding that the initiative was timely and should be allowed to succeed.
NYPF President, Moses Siloko Siasia, in a statement, at the weekend warned that any attempt to further harass, or cause further obstruction to the CBN policy will be greeted with serious repercussions from the citizens who are tired of the manipulation of the currency by the elite for their selfish gains.
Siasia said a huge amount of money had been taken away from circulation by the elites caught napping by the CBN policy forcing them to return such money to the banking system.
On the insinuation that the policy was targeted at curbing vote-buying and election manipulation, he said it was important to stop electoral corruption because the 2023 election will be a defining moment in Nigeria’s political history and that any attempt to sabotage the wishes of the people through open buying of votes will have ripple negative effects and multidimensional consequences of the outcome of the election and the future of the country as most citizens are already tired of the corrupt electoral process that produces corrupt leaders.
According to him, the CBN, under Godwin Emefiele, has initiated several policies that have been beneficial to young businesses and young professionals who were, before some of the policies, left on their own without support.
He said the CBN interventions with such policies as the anchor borrowers program, and the CBN Small and Medium Enterprises Credit Guarantee Scheme with over 200 billion, among several youth-friendly policies have helped many young professionals to stabiles their businesses and employ more people.
“We want to assure the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele that he is not alone, young professionals will not let him down, we are very determined to speak up and we will continue to stand by him and to ensure that his legacy will be protected and that our country will be rescued from manipulative tendencies of the political class,” he said.