A human right and pro-democracy group, Human Rights,Liberty Access and Peace Defenders Foundation. (HURIDE), has called on the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to immediately resign his position for the introduction of criminal cashless policy which will make Nigerians pay more for depositing money in the banks.
The chairman,ย Board of Trustees (BoT) of HURIDE, Dede Uzor A. Uzor, said that the latest cashless policy was “anti-people , obnoxious, evil, anti-democracy, and economically backward”.
The group called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack Emefiele if after seven days he has not tendered his resignation letter, saying it was obvious that Emefiele(which means,he has sinned) has exhausted all he knew about managing a bleeding economy like that of Nigeria.
” How can a serious minded Government which has concern for its citizens compel its people to pay for depositing money in a bank.The policy is aimed at discouraging Nigerians from depositing their money in banks”.
Decribing the policy as anย economic suicide, the rights activist alignedย with the members of House of Representatives which directed the CBN to suspend the implementation of the policy.
He asked the Senate to also join hands with the House of Representatives and the oppressed citizens of Nigeria to compel the CBN from implementing the obnoxious,ill timed,recycling policy.
The group said Federal Government should not further impoverishย the already cashed strapped Nigerians due to theirย economic policy, saying that paying the money amounted to tripple taxation which negates the principles of tax payment inline with our extant laws.
HURIDE said there was no doubt that theย policy has exposed the inefficiency ofย Federal Government and CBN in particularย to manage the ‘recess proneย economy’ of the country, which has already ushered depression in the accidental prone economy.
In a bid therefore, to mop up money to sustain the wasteful expenditure and ostentatious life styleย of the Federal Government, it went through the CBN to illegally impose on a tax regime to Nigerians on the money they deposited in banks even when Nigerians are living below poverty level.
” Our economy is in a state of paralysis. People are dying of poverty and hunger.
Federal Government should stop further impoverishment of Nigerians with this unpopular cashless policy” theyย said.
Continuing,HURIDE lamented that ” there is no conducive environment for economic development to thrive under this Government.
There is no power, roads, employment opportunities for youngย people and they are still taxing Nigerians.
”How do they want the economy to grow with this type of hashed negative policy?”.
He said it was in the same vein that they equally condemned the decision of Federal Executive Council to increase Value Added Tax (VAT) to 7.2 percent instead of reducing same.
He said apart from its illegality since FEC has no powers to impose tax, further imposition of taxes and levies on the citizens of this country’ was unacceptable at this time, when the purchasing power of many Nigerians have drastically gone down,Dede Uzor fumed
