Be patient, CBN working to strengthen Naira – Cardoso begs Nigerians

Be patient, CBN working to strengthen Naira – Cardoso begs Nigerians

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Dr. Olayemi
Cardoso, yesterday, begged Nigerians to be patient, as the management of the
apex bank is doing everything possible to ensure that the Naira is
strengthened.

 

Cardoso said this at the 2024 public lecture entitled:
‘Recent Developments in a Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market: Issues, Options and
Way Forward’, organised by the Nigerian Economic Society, NES, at the CBN
Centre of Excellence Hall, University of Ibadan.

 

The CBN governor, who was represented at the event by Dr.
Usman Opanachi of the Department of Monetary Policy, CBN said: “Anytime the
Naira is on trial, the CBN is also on trial. We are working day and night to
address the challenges and we hope things will work out.

 

“The exchange rate features nearly in every sector. The
exchange rate and inflation are very high now. The exchange rate is a problem.

 

“Excess demand for forex in Nigeria is a legendary problem.
It has just been there and over the years, the bank has implemented various
strategies to address this problem. Those strategies have only been able to
provide some temporary relief.

 

“The Central Bank of Nigeria does not supply or produce
dollars. It is the naira that it produces. The CBN management thinks when you
hold the price of a commodity that is determined by forex down artificially, a
time comes when you will not be able to do that.

 

“The thinking of the new management of CBN is that the
policies you have are intended to address the problem. The approach the
management has adopted is the market forces approach. The bank now allows the
market forces to play a greater role in the determination of the price of naira.”

 

Delivering the lecture, a renowned economist, Prof Sam
Olofin, said it will be difficult for the CBN to control the foreign exchange
saying the parallel market forces have taken dominance.

 

On the evolution of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, Olofin
said: “We are only applying the same old drugs on a patient without any good
results. The parallel markets are outside the purview of the CBN.”

In his welcome address, President of the Nigerian Economic
Society, Prof Adeola Adenikinju urged the Federal Government to consult
economists on the weak economy.

Source: Be patient, CBN working to strengthen Naira – Cardoso begs Nigerians

 - NigerianEye
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