The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to unify the country’s exchange rate for the naira.
This is as the naira was on Sunday exchanging at N500 to dollar at the parallel market, while it remained stable at N378 to dollar on the CBN’s official rate.
The IMF said the Nigerian economy is struggling with multiple shocks, and is expected to grow by -4.3 per cent in 2020 before a modest recovery in 2021(1.7 per cent).
The IMF said exchange rate rigidities have constrained the economy’s ability to absorb external shocks. It called for unified exchange rate for the naira to promote growth and attractive foreign capital.
According to the IMF, foreign exchange backlog and shortages are intensifying Balance of Payment (BoP) pressures insisting that exchange rate unification was imperative to reduce BoP risks.
Meanwhile, the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele said the economic challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic to Nigeria and other global economies will soon end with the discovery of vaccines to tackle the heath problem.
Speaking at the Annual Bankers Dinner, organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos, the apex bank boss said coming of vaccines will also help to support growth in the medium term, by aiding full restoration of economic activities particularly in service related sectors such as education, aviation, hospitality and tourism.
