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Occupy CBN protest fails to gather public support

By Mathias Okwe, Abuja and Chijioke Nelson, Lagos
14 January 2017   |   2:48 am
The planned protest against the foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in Abuja, yesterday, failed to gather public support.
Central Bank of Nigeria

Central Bank of Nigeria

The planned protest against the foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in Abuja, yesterday, failed to gather public support.

The protest tagged, ‘Occupy CBN,’ organised by a group, known as Wailing Wailers, was led by Deji Adeyanju.

The CBN had on Wednesday raised the alarm over what it described as threat to its operations by “paid hirelings and bunch of blackmailers,” who are fighting for the interest of those who want to destroy the Nigerian economy.

About 9:30am, only 12 of them gathered at a junction close to the Women Development Centre (WDC) in Central Area, Abuja, while the leader of the group told reporters that they were not coming to make trouble, but to obtain explanations as to why the Naira should be allowed to weaken against the Dollar.

The Police high command in Abuja had earlier warned the group against any plan to cause trouble in the city by attempting to go near the CBN office.

Not long after being accosted by the Police, they left the place on their own few minutes later.

CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, said they were “paid agents of selfish interests and the enemies of the Nigerian economy.

He added: “They want to create markets for importers to the overall detriment of the Nigerian economy. No amount of blackmail will make the CBN allow a practice whereby our farmers and industrialists, who have invested heavily and employed our youths in the production of Nigerian-made rice, fish, industrial starch, palm produce, wheat, tooth pick and wines would be made to close their farms and factories again.

“First, they want the CBN to give out the nation’s scarce foreign exchange to their sponsors to import all manner of foreign goods and dump them on our markets, thereby frustrating the good work our own farmers and manufacturers have begun.

“Second, they want the CBN to fold its arms and allow currency speculators to drive the Naira down to a level at which it will be easy for their paymasters to buy up and take control of the Nigerian economy.

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