PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI
ABUJA—Even with the Currency flexibility policy recently invoked by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to enable market variables determine the value or otherwise of the Naira, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday insisted that the policy was not beneficial to the economy.
The CBN policy, it would be recalled, came as an economic and market strategy to systematically devalue the Naira, following its free fall recently. It was one decision that didn’t come so easy as president Buhari never wanted to further devalue the currency. He had on several occasions in many international fora in Egypt and Kenya said that further devaluation of Niara would mean “killing it”, and challenged Nigerian economists and financial analysts to convince him.
Now, while speaking at the breaking of his Ramadam fast with members of the Nigerian business community at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, last night, the President said the CBN policy was yet to benefit the country.
He said: “I don’t like the returns I get from the CBN concerning the devaluation of the Naira. In August 1985, the Naria was N1.3 to a dollar but now you need N300 or N350 to a dollar. What do we derive from that? How much benefit can we derive from this ruthless devaluation of the Naira. “I’m not an economist neither a businessman, I fail to appreciate what the economic explanation is. What has happened to us now is that we have maneuvered ourselves into mono-economy which led to the collapse we are seeing now”.
To get Nigeria out of the employment crisis, the President placed the responsibility of creating jobs on the door steps of the business community.
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