The Chairman of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Ltd, Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah, on Wednesday, continued his drive to halt the current free-fall of the Naira.
Ubah, who has staked his N500 billion assets in his campaign to cause the Naira to appreciate to N200 per dollar within a month, disclosed that he was moved to intervene in the dangerous downward slide of the Naira against the dollar because of the hardship the local currency depreciation had imposed on Nigerians.
The billionaire businessman, who is also the Publisher of The AUTHORITY Newspapers, stated this when he featured on the Africa Independent Television (AIT) programme: “Global Business”.
While fielding questions from the presenter, Ubah explained that he threw his hat into the ring because Nigerians were passing through a lot of hardship even when it was possible to do something to halt the worrisome slide of the Naira to the dollar.
Ubah recalled that the first time he spoke on the issue last Sunday on Channels TV, the Naira exchange rate to the dollar was over N400, noting that a few days after he challenged the authorities on forex management, the Naira is curiously firming up.
He blamed the managers of the forex and not the Bureaux de Change operators. Specifically, he contended that the officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cannot continue to accuse the operators of speculation when obviously, there are people sabotaging the system and inducing panic buying with others making so much money in the process.
“The CBN was faulty in not managing the Bureaux de Change operators. You have to manage them well and not be accusing them of speculating. Even in Dubai, the Bureaux still thrives. It is not about academics; it is about being street-wise. We speak a lot of grammar in this country rather than getting things done,” Ubah declared.
He also said that he did not need to be paid or be made a minister to bring about the naira stability, saying that being a consultant to that effect would be it. Ubah, nonetheless stated that he had nothing to lose if the Federal Government decides to ignore his offer, saying that the most important thing to do is to ensure transparency and effective information management system.
Ubah however applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for refusing to devalue the Naira which would bring about an increase in the prices of goods and services and demand for salary increase by workers, insisting that, “we need to wake up our governance structure and put up a competitive edge.”
He challenged those managing the economy, especially the forex, to be more innovative and be in tandem with modern trends. He opined that monopolists that have skeletons in their cupboards, “those that enjoy a whole lot of waivers and other things, cannot be sincere to the government and will always want to block things of interest from them.”
The company chief maintained that the government needs people that are not thinking of benefitting from the system, who will also be courageous in doing things that can only be of benefit to the economy and Nigerians.
He reiterated that he was only driven by the desire to help Nigerians and mitigate their sufferings, especially when they are induced to undertake the naira revaluation.
Ubah likened his intervention to the oil subsidy crisis era when Nigerians were also subjected to serious hardship with banks and telecommunications almost closing shop before he arrested the drift by releasing oil into the market.
“I’m throwing myself up for the sake of the Nigerian masses. I’m in the position to change things and that’s why I’m offering my services. I am a critical thinker, expert in conflict resolution management. I’m not a super human being but I try to do my best. If I’m not consulted, I’m Ok, but I have to let the government know that it can be done. I’m happy to observe that since the day I made it public, the exchange rate of the Naira has improved,’’ he said.
When he featured on Channels TV last Sunday to challenge the system, the Naira was on a dangerous downward slide to about N400 to a Dollar. Curiously, as at Wednesday, the Naira has gained some strength to exchange for about N250 to a dollar.
Source: Ifeanyi Uba.
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