ation process will open up the foreign exchange market
– Another expert noted that dollars would be allocated to key sectors that will help Nigeria
– Insists that it is the right policy to get Nigeria working again
A financial expert has reacted to reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is planning to peg the Nigerian currency to N250/dollar.
A report on Tuesday, May 24 had suggested that the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, was expected to make an announcement on how the devaluation would look be and its process, but he tacitly refused to speak on the details.
But in his reaction to the report, Ayodeji EBo, head of research at Afrinvest West Africaltd, told Bloomberg on phone that“It is a technical devaluation.”
“The objective is clear. It will open up the foreign-exchange market, once there is liquidity,”he added.
Speaking also was Charles Robertson, a London-based chief economist at Renaissance, who said:“If my interpretation’s right, they’re not going to throw away their reserves trying to manage the exchange rate and they’ll let the market determine that exchange rate.”
He added:“They’ll allocate dollars to those key sectors that will help Nigeria change the structure of its economy, probably agribusiness, industry and oil refineries.
“It sounds like the right policy stance to get Nigeria working again, although they’ll be an inevitable lag as devaluation always carries some short-term pain.”
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari has urged Nigerians to be patient with his administration,adding that the present administration was on the right path to make Nigeria greater.
Buhari’s plea to Nigerians was conveyed by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday, May 23, in Lagos when he represented the president at the commissioning of police metro patrol vehicles and power bikes donated by the administration of Governor Akinwumi Ambode.
“We are convinced that we are on the right path. We urge Nigerians to patiently work with this government,”he said