A former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Prof. Kingsley Moghalu, has stated that the naira’s strength can be restored only through Nigeria’s transition into an economy-driven by exports.
During the 29th annual Nigerian Economic Summit held in the capital city, Abuja, Moghalu emphasised that the naira’s recovery hinges on Nigeria shifting to an export-driven economy.
The summit, titled ‘Pathways to Sustainable Economic Transformation and Inclusion,’ is an annual gathering of influential leaders from both the public and private sectors, dedicated to discussing the Nigerian economy.
When asked about addressing the decline of the Nigerian currency, Moghalu stressed the importance of adopting a long-term approach to resolve the issue.
“The way to fix the naira has problems is a combination of things. Some of them are short-term, but let me start with the long-term because we’ve been trying to fix the problem of the naira for a long, long time. It’s just been getting worse,” Moghalu said.
“The only way you can fix the naira is that the Nigerian economy needs to become a productive export-driven economy,” he asserted.
The political economist, however, lamented that the country has not devised a robust plan to make the naira strong.
“I can’t say this enough and I’m not the only one who’s saying it. But up till today, we have not seen a comprehensive plan with targets to achieve this,” he said.
“And even when plans are made, they are not always as informed as they should be. But I don’t know if you heard the President today because I heard him talking about clearing the backlog and doing all of this.
“You see. I mean, it’s important to clear those battles because one of the problems and a major problem that is affecting the naira is confidence.”
