Investigation by civil society groups have contradicted a recent claim by Godwin Obaseki, governor of Edo State, that N60 billion was printed in March to support allocation to states.

The groups under the auspices of Coalition of Civil Society Groups made this known in a world press conference addressed by its President, Bassey Etuk Williams on Wednesday in Abuja.

The coalition said it decided to intervene in the controversy after thorough investigation of the allegation by the Edo governor, in a bid to clear the falsehoods peddled by him and some other unpatriotic citizens.

According to Williams, the civil society groups took their time and x-rayed the issue to prevent misinterpretation and rekindle the confidence and trust reposed on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Governor in particular.

He stated that against Governor Obaseki’s claims, they discovered that the allegations were mere falsehood capable of distorting progress recorded and as a campaign to smear the effort of a performing Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele.

“The issues raised by Gov. Obaseki and others; alleging that N60 Billion was printed by CBN and the Federal Government to augment for the March, 2021 FAAC allocation, is orchestrated by enemies of Government just to whittle down the confidence Nigerians have in the government and her effort to invigorate the economy.

“After our due consultations and enquiries, our Group discovered that the allegation was just falsehood capable of distorting progress recorded and as a campaign to smear the effort of a performing Governor of the CBN. Reports made available to us reveal that going by the money FAAC shares, the funds are monies generated and domiciled in the federation account, and are usually shared to the states every month.

“There was no evidence that the March allocation was borrowed which contradicts the claims of those saying March allocation money was printed. We further discovered that all the states owe the CBN. These monies are bailout funds given to them to cushion the effects of the difficulties experienced by the governors in their bid to deliver on good governance.

“Reports made available to us reveal that going by the money FAAC shares, the funds are monies generated and domiciled in the federation account, and are usually shared to the states every month.

“There was no evidence that the March allocation was borrowed which contradicts the claims of those saying March allocation money was printed. We further discovered that all the states owe the CBN. These monies are bailout funds given to them to cushion the effects of the difficulties experienced by the governors in their bid to deliver on good governance,” Williams said.

He condemned the use of sensitive issues such as the economy to play politics, while urging Nigerians to disregard the allegations in totality. “We don’t need such distractions at this time when the country is facing much insecurity and hunger in the country.

“We need patriotic interventions and we equally expect progressive contributions towards developing and governing the Nigerian polity. We condemn the falsehood and the controversy been generated; this is not what we need at a time like now,” Williams stressed.

The CSOs applauded Emefiele’s effort, policies and programmes embarked upon to cushion the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic and also expressed confidence at the way and manner the CBN governor is managing the affairs of the apex bank.

“We salute the courage of the CBN Governor for rising to the occasion and quickly correcting the wrong notion being expressed by nay sayers. Governor Emefiele has also backed up his pledge to facilitate job creation with the creation of the Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), which is being implemented in collaboration with the Bankers’ Committee.

“Without equivocation, Emefiele’s contribution to the development and growth of the Nigerian economy, as well as innovations in development financing is worth celebrating.

“He has encouraged the diversification of the economy and stimulated growth in the agriculture sector in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan, he put in place an innovative Agric credit plan: Anchor Borrowers Programme and this has increased yield per hectare.

“He stabilized the Naira and put the economy on a right footing. And his effort has pulled the country out of recession and embarked on other policies such as the Youth Entrepreneurship Development Programme (YEDP), Accelerated Agricultural Development Scheme (AADS), the Agri-business/Small and Medium Enterprises Investment Scheme (AGSMEIS) all in an effort to build a strong economy,” Williams stated.