The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has reacted to unconfirmed reports that he had been removed from office by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Emefiele reacted to the news on Tuesday during a meeting with Textile Industry Stakeholders in Abuja.
Responding to a question from a journalist about a rumour regarding his removal, Emefiele said his tenure would expire in June.
He said: “At least you can see me, I am doing my work.
“My tenure expires in June.
“And at least let us continue the work.”
Emefiele added that the intervention programmes of the CBN had been on since 1978 and moved from one governor to the other and that he was very optimistic that even if another governor was appointed, the programmes would continue.
Anibe Achimugu, the National President, National Cotton Association of Nigeria, said the association was very pleased with the interventions by the CBN but appealed that the interventions should begin quickly.
Achimugu said the cotton planting season would begin in May and that it would be profitable to access loans before then and put them to good use.
He also appealed that the working capital loan and the long term loan given by the Bank of Industry be restructured and merged into long term loans so the borrowers could afford to pay back.
In 2015, CBN restricted the availability of foreign exchange to the importation of 41 items, which could be competitively produced within the economy, and the list has increased overtime.