By Sunday Ani, Lagos
The candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the February 25 presidential election, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to avoid policy confusion by allowing the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to focus on monetary policy, while he focuses on prioritising fiscal discipline and budget.
Adebayo, who made the call on Twitter Saturday, noted that the mongrel of a monetary policy advisor outside the CBN evinces an intent to teleguide, but advised that if he is good, he could be made the CBN Governor to run it freely.
Cautioning that monetary policy should not be under politics, he noted that the gap between the Aso Villa and the CBN is too short, stressing that it should be much wider.
He equally advised that the Federal Government as a player should not have the final say on money market rules, even as he insisted that any macroeconomic engagement was best at arms’ length, lest autothysis becomes routine.
Commenting on the ordeal of the former CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, he said: “How do you go from the apex bank to jail? Is this unheard of among central bankers? No. In fact, the switch between signing your fancy signature on currency notes and signing the prisoners’ register can be quite swift as China, Lebanon, Myanmar, Iran, and Slovakia, among others, have shown.
“Thus, it is a lesson to all of us in sensitive and privileged positions that, though a country can look like a crime scene, and crime may look like it pays, the day of reckoning is by the corner. Anyone who allows him/herself to be used might regret alone or jointly, even those in charge now.”