Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has said Nigeria cannot inject new dollars into the system because the exchange rate is “artificially low.”
Osinbajo said this on Monday in Abuja at the opening of a two-day Mid-Term Ministerial Performance Review Retreat organised to assess progress made towards the achievement of the nine key priorities of the Buhari regime.
Osinbajo, who said the artificially low exchange rate was a deterrence to investors from bringing foreign exchange into the country, noted that, “As for the exchange rate, I think we need to move our rates to be as reflective of the market as possible. This, in my own respective view, is the only way to improve supply.
“We can’t get new dollars into the system where the exchange rate is artificially low. And everyone knows by how much our reserves can grow. I’m convinced that the demand management strategy currently being adopted by the CBN needs a rethink, and that is just my view.
“Anyway, all those are issues that when the CBN governor has time to address, he will be able to address in full.”
Osinbajo also suggested that the CBN is competing with the fiscal side of the economy, which includes the ministries, departments, and agencies of government.
“There must be synergy between the fiscal and the monetary authority. We must be able to deal with the synergy, we must handle the synergy between the monetary authority, the CBN, and the fiscal side,” he added.
