National Chairman of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Ralphs Okey Nwosu, has urged President Bola Tinubu’s government to desist from playing politics with numbers at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

   He spoke in Abuja yesterday with journalists shortly after handing over the certificate of return to the Anambra State governorship candidate of the party, Mr John Chuma Nwosu.

   According to him, the country’s monetary policy is flawed, mainly due to the manipulation of figures for the purpose of local politics, stressing that while the government was at liberty to play politics in almost every other place, the CBN should be allowed its independence to function.

   He stated: “They claim that they have cleared foreign debts. You cannot play politics with the financial institutions or less the country will go down more and more. Our monetary policy is flawed. They manipulate figures for their local politics.

   “You can play politics almost every other place but leave the Central Bank alone. Let the figures show for itself. Manipulating our monetary policy for politics is destroying the tenets of our democracy.

    “Therefore, as members of ADC, we beg our President that they should let the Central Bank be as independent as possible. So that our recovery will be easier for us because you need truth-telling to be able to get anything good.”

   He further pleaded with the Federal Government to allow local businesses to grow, noting that the government should stop closing up all the local businesses to create the impression of liquidity.

   “Let the Federal Government pay local contractors and the true picture will show. The money that is supposed to be paid to local contractors is kept to create the impression in the books that Nigeria is buoyant.

   “I can bet you today if the government pays the contractors, you will see that we are on the ground minus, more than minus zero,” Nwosu stated.

EARLIER during the event, Nwosu declared that his party had been chosen as the consensus platform for the bourgeoning coalition of political like-minds in readiness for the 2027 general poll.

   The ADC chairman spoke, yesterday, in Abuja, while handing over the certificate of return to the Anambra State governorship candidate of the party, Mr John Chuma Nwosu, at the ADC national headquarters, Garki, Abuja.

   He disclosed that the governorship ticket of the party for the November 8 ballot in Anambra State was an exemplification of the resolve of patriotic opposition leaders to forge a broad-based coalition to rescue Nigeria from imminent dictatorship and creeping authoritarianism.   

   “We arrived at the candidacy of the ADC through the coalition. Until a few weeks back, the governorship standard bearer, John Chuma Nwosu, was a stalwart member of the Labour Party (LP) both at the national and subnational levels.

   “His running mate, Dr Ndubuisi Nwobu, was one-time state chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Anambra State. So, as you can see the coalition is working because in this election we are going to run a fair race. It is not only ADC, LP, PDP, members of APC and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) are involved,” he stated.