… Emefiele urges Nigerians to support 41 items policy for economy’s restructuring.
The monthly foreign exchange inflow into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has within two years declined by 414.3 percent to $700 million from $3.6 billion in the first quarter of 2014, according to Godwin Emefiele, governor, who assumed office in June 2014.
The demand for foreign exchange from the market has continued to be about US$4.8 billion monthly.
The decline was as a result of sharp drop in the prices of crude oil, worsened by low production level and the country’s inability to save.
Consequently, external reserves which stood at a record high of US$62 billion in September 2008, after the country had spent US$12 billion in settling the Paris club debt, fell to $25 billion last year before picking up to the current level of $30.04 billion as at March 9, 2017.
“It is quite surprising and disingenuous that some of the people talking today about how we can manage our exchange rate were the same persons who frittered away these reserves such that when I assumed office, I met only US$37 billion in FX reserves”, Emefiele said at the Vanguard personality of the year award on Saturday in Lagos.
However, the CBN governor urged Nigerians to support 41 items policy and see it as an opportunity to change economy’s restructuring, resuscitate local manufacturing, and expand job creation for the citizens.
He said the policy have been used to achieve significant sufficiency in cement, a product whose importation could have been costing the nation over US$3.2 billion in Forex Reserves annually.
Emefiele explained that the high rate of exchange in the parallel market is as a result of a lot of illegal and criminal activities are being carried out there.
“the CBN cannot sit idly bye and allow such faceless and criminally minded people to destroy the currency under the guise of a free float as is being canvassed by some so- called experts”, he added.
Hope Moss-Ashike
