By Giwa SHILE
Financial experts have commended the foreign exchange intervention move of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), stating that it would defend the naira from depreciating and stabilise the economy.
The experts gave their commendation in Ibadan on Monday.
CBN has injected 210 million dollars into the forex market to strengthen the value of naira.
Mr Raji Rasaki said the CBN monetary regulation, to stabilise the economy was on track.
“If the CBN does not intervene in the forex market, then the exchange rate will be high, which will be sending wrong signals out.
“In any business, there is always a gestation period.
“Now that the economy is being remolded away from oil, it will take some time before the agriculture and mining sector start to earn the country foreign exchange.
“Presently, the Buhari administration is laying good foundation for the economy to thrive.
“The local earnings from tax and levies are competing favourably well with earnings from the oil sector, looking at the growth rate from 2015,” he said.
Rasaki further said that the level of the intervention would reduce, once Nigeria starts to earn forex from non-oil sector.
In her remarks, Mrs Lolade Adesola, a financial consultant, stated that defending the naira by pumping foreign exchange into the market would make its supply high, bring down the price of forex and shore up the naira.
“In an import dependent economy like ours, the foreign exchange value is very important.
“It is an emotional thing that Nigerians look at, but it is not the wisest economic decision.
“We are fixated on exchange rate.
“Politicians, average Nigerians, even people selling local goods talk about exchange rate, hence the state our economy is,” Adesola said.
She enjoined Nigerians to consume locally-made-goods to lessen the demand for forex.
“This will make the country grow its external reserves instead of using proceeds from crude oil to defend the value of naira,” she said.
