The Middle Belt Youths Forum (MBYF) has strongly criticized the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, for his recent comments about the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele. Akpabio had accused Emefiele of leaving behind a “foamy economy” and creating a significant deficit in the national treasury.
In a statement released by the Director of Strategy for the Middle Belt Youths, Caleb Pwok, the youth group rebuked Akpabio for his remarks, suggesting that the Senate President’s behavior was an attempt to curry favor with President Bola Tinubu and distance himself from his own alleged corruption issues.
Pwok’s statement emphasized that Emefiele, during his tenure at the CBN, defended the naira and implemented policies that aimed to stabilize the currency in the Foreign Exchange (FX) market. The group questioned Akpabio’s motives for his comments, pointing out that the Senate President has faced multiple summons by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over corruption allegations.
The group praised Emefiele’s policies, citing his efforts to maintain stability in the forex market, and argued that Akpabio’s comments were merely an attempt to gain the President’s favor and avoid potential scrutiny by the EFCC.
MBYF highlighted several of Emefiele’s policies that were designed to manage forex demands and stabilize the naira. They mentioned that during Emefiele’s tenure, the naira maintained relative stability in the interbank market and other forex windows. According to the group, the CBN under Emefiele implemented various measures to ensure that banks could meet the demands of customers seeking forex for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), school fees, and medical expenses.
The youth group concluded by asserting that the Senate President’s comments against Emefiele were an attempt to shift attention away from his own corruption allegations. They urged Akpabio to refrain from making disparaging remarks against the former CBN governor to gain political favor.
