GODWIN OBASEKI IS A HYPOCRITE – HE BENEFITTED FROM ALL PRINTED MONIES!

ZION B-BC   NEWSLETTER.  

(Looking at Nigeria's Political System From a Godly Perspective).

A Publication of the Zion Faith Bible-Believing Church Kpeyegyi Abuja Nigeria {Vol. 10.NO 401. 18th April, 2021.} “…ONLY The Truth, Will Set You Free! (John.8:32).  PRAY & FAST EVERY WEDNESDAY TO STOP BLOODSHED IN NIGERIA!

GODWIN OBASEKI IS A HYPOCRITE – HE BENEFITTED FROM ALL PRINTED MONIES!

The 10th Edo state Governor, Godwin Nogheghase Obaseki, may not be an economist by discipline but he possesses adequate knowledge in Finance, Investment Banking, and International Business to appreciate that “printing money” connoted an emergency intervention by governments to save national economies when in dire strait and needed not raise an alarm to heat up polity for cheap publicity!

Successful world economies like the United States of America, China, Britain, Germany, etc, had at different times improvised the method to shore up financial resources as a last resort, to save their nations from embarrassing fiscal liquidity – especially when national or global calamities, like the current Covid-19 Pandemic existed!

The defected All Progressives Congress (APC), Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, alleged on Monday, 12th April, 2021, that the Federal Government printed additional N50-N60 billion naira in March, to augment the monthly States Financial Allocation from the Federation Account!

Coming from a former insider and a member of the National Economic Council (NEC), now in the major opposition party PDP, the “allegation”, resonated as an alarming crisis that needed urgent attention of all stakeholders in the economy WHEREAS HE IS ALSO PART OF THE PROBLEM!

Obaseki also benefited from the “printed money” of N614billion Federal Government Bail-Out Fund for States between 2015/2016 and an outrageous/astronomical N2.8trillion in 2018 – ALL IN THE AID OF BAILING OUT THE ECONOMY – though the move was contrary to the CBN Act which stipulates that not more than 5% of a previous Internally Generated Revenue (IGR), could be printed for such purpose – N2.8 TRILLION WAS 80% OF THE PREVIOUS IGR!

In his lamentation, the Edo State Governor also said: “Nigeria is facing a serious financial crisis …. when we got FAAC for March, the Federal Government printed additional N50-N60 billion to top up for us to share.” And in a reaction to a statement from the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, which dismissed his claim as “very sad and untrue” explained that monies distributed at Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), were revenues generated from different agencies of government, Mr. Obaseki in a recent tweet insisted Federal Government was “playing the ostrich” and urged it to take urgent steps to end the “current monetary rascality”!

The Minister also said that information on the revenue distribution was a public document which could be accessed and verified at the ministry’s website!

CBN GOVERNOR DID NOT DENY ALLEGATION BUT EXPLAINED CONCEPT OF PRINTING MONEY!

Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has also dismissed the claim by Godwin Obaseki, as “unfortunate and totally inappropriate” and stated that CBN being the only accredited government agency authorized to print money, must always act in support at times of financial difficulties adding that the concept of printing money was “about lending money”!

A newspaper report also quoted Emefiele as follows:
“That’s our job – to print. It’s about lending money and so there’s no need putting the controversy about printing of money as if we are going into the factory printing the naira and start distributing on the streets.

He said it was very inappropriate for the people to just give some coloration to the issue of printing of money as a foreign expression and reminded Nigerians of a similar fiscal situation in 2015/2016, when the current Change Administration just took off, and CBN had to support budget facility of all 36 States to the tune of N614 billion, which has remained UNPAID BECAUSE IT WAS NOT INVESTED IN PRODUCTIVITY!

The Governor confirmed economic crisis through low productivity which has affected Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and plans to overcome inflation majorly caused by Covid-19 pandemic and affirmed that, “It would be irresponsible of the CBN or any other bank to stand idle and refuse to support its government as it is done in other clime”!

He condemned playing politics, over heating the polity with the sensitive issue of printing of money and advised that all stakeholders should work for the growth of the country!

COMMENTS: Mr. Emefiele was very correct to assert that a country’s apex bank should fulfill all monetary obligations in trying situations of stringent economic challenges but failed to tell Nigerians how the bank would RECOVER such huge debts through the “printing of money” and “lending it” again to those pathetic and chronic debtors like the Federal Government and its 36 States!

NIGERIA’S DEBT BURDEN:

Presently, Nigeria’s external debt is in the region of USD$84.57billion (which is being serviced annually), without payment of the substantive AMOUNT and total public debt might rise by N6trillion to hit N38.68trillion by December 2021, according to the Debt Management Office!

36 STATES UNABLE TO REFUND N614 BILLION BAILOUT!

Deductions of bailout funds doled out to the States to offset outstanding WORKERS SALARIES between 2015 and 2016, which should have commenced in September 2019, are yet to commence in view of the sudden global plague of Covid-19 which had adversely affected internally revenue generation across the geo-political zones till date!

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MUST ARREST THE “MONEY ILLUSION” SYNDROME!

The bitter truth is that this new drive of money printing has placed the nation under the economic delusion of MONEY ILLUSION [a tendency to think of money in NOMINAL rather than REAL terms!] The belief that Nigerian Naira has a FIXED VALUE especially at a period of economic depression (which is now global in nature due to Covid-19 Pandemic), has generated harsh two-digit inflation of 18.17%, is stark reality that prices of goods and services have DOUBLED and in most cases, TRIPLED!

Workers who are lucky to receive the monthly national wage N30, 000, Naira, should know that their purchasing power has diminished by HALF and should face the REALITY that the wads of currency notes in their pockets would fetch less than half of their domestic needs!

NIGERIAN BUREAU OF STATISTICS CONFIRMS HYPER-INFLATION ON GOODS, SERVICES - CONSUMABLES!

Inflation of goods and services according to the Consumer Price Index report released by the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics (NBS), at the end of Q1, March 2021, rose to 18.17% from 17.33% recorded in February 2021, which represents 0.82% points higher that the February figures, while food index which rose by 22.95% in March 2021 compared to 21.79% in February, 2021, was caused by increase in prices of cereals, oils, tubers, fish, meat, even vegetables and fruits!

Unemployment rate also increased without restraint to 33.3% in Q4, 2020 from 27.1% in Q2, 2020, as the number of persons in economically active or working age population (15-64 years of age), during the reference period of survey, Q4, 2020 was 122,049,400, according to the report published, 15th March, 2021.

The overall annual growth of real GDP [gross domestic product], in 2020, was estimated at - 1.92%, a decline of - 4.20% points when compared to 2.27% recorded in 2019, in Q4, 2020. An average daily crude oil production of 1.56 million barrels per day (mbpd), instead of 2.5 million, was recorded

SERIOUS GOVERNMENTS WOULD SPARINGLY IMPROVISE MONEY PRINTING AS LAST RESORT!

The monetary policy of Quantitative Easing (QE), colloquially know as “money printing” is relatively new to economics, but since its inception has been used across the globe.
It is a contingency planning or process through which the Central Bank of a country uses its cash reserves to purchase existing government bonds in order to pump money directly into the financial system.

According to our research, paper currency which originated from China over a thousand years ago during the Tang Dynasty (618-907), was created by merchants to avoid the heavy bulk of copper coinage has now become a global practice which is constitutionally handled by independent governments through their accredited agencies to avoid economic strangulation in the case of proliferation of fake-counterfeit currencies!

Multiple secret security anti-counterfeiting measures/techniques are therefore incorporated into the printing of modern banknotes in order to properly secure them and Nigeria is not an exception.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is the sole agency of government which has the mandate and is authorized to print all denominations of the Nigerian NAIRA; but in spite of very stringent measures, counterfeit currencies [which pass through commercial bank vaults are still much in circulation to date!

CBN GOVERNOR SHOULD DECLARE WAR ON CURRENCY COUNTERFEITERS!

There cannot be a better time for Mr. Emefiele to invoke provisions of the: Counterfeit Currency (Special Provisions) Act, which recommends LIFE IMPRISONMENT sentence on conviction to counterfeiters!
The CBN Governor’s attention has been drawn to the fact that about 20% of the Naira currency notes in circulation are counterfeited although his office claims that the amount is less than ONE per cent!
However, CBN has confirmed that the N500 and N1,000 denominations as the two most counterfeited banknotes in the country! The social media is awash with Citizens complaints of collecting on daily basis thousands of fake bank notes from Automated Teller Machines across the nation without being compensated after making complaints!

If counterfeit currencies are flushed out of the banking sector and syndicates/culprits within and without the industry are brought to justice, definitely the current spate of hyper-inflation will be stemmed!
Enough of “printing money”; enough of “counterfeit currencies”, CBN should now focus more on supporting and partnering State Governments to become stabilized in internally generated revenues drives so that the MONTHLY FEEDING BOTTLE dependence on FAAC will fritter into oblivion and the nation becomes economically viable to take care of all social NEEDS of its over 200 million citizens! A stitch in time saves nine.

Please look forward to more divine revelation in the next edition of Zion B-BC Newsletter as you share this with friends and remain blessed in the Lord. [For weekly access, to this newsletter, log on to:  facebook.com/zionfaithbible.believingchurch or http://www.zfbbc1.blogspot.com,

If you have not accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Saviour, don’t miss this great opportunity as you pray this prayer: Lord Jesus; I confess that I am a sinner who needs to be saved through the grace of the New Testament of your Blood, shed on the Cross at Calvary;
I renounce every sin in my life and accept you as my Lord and Saviour. Please forgive me and write my name in the Book of Life. Amen. If you prayed this prayer, you have been admitted into the family of sons and daughters of God, who are born-again. Congratulations. 

I am, yours sincerely, Dr. David B.A. Olufon, Resident Pastor and Editor. 08130669886, 08080243066. g-mail-dvdolufon@gmail.