Edo State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has blamed investment bankers and other speculators for the heated debate over devaluation of the naira, saying it was not the policy of government.
Governor of Edo State, who was the keynote speaker at TheCable Colloquium in Lagos, noted that it did not matter how much the Nigerian currency exchanged with the dollar, as long as the purchasing power of the naira is retained.
“Who wants devaluation? Who has taken the naira to the court for trial? Who is prosecuting, and who is defending?” he asked.
“Everything was perfect or so it seemed when oil was $140 per barrel. There was no conversation about whether naira should be revalued upward. So if it had gone to N200, I suspect nobody would have invited us to say should naira not be revalued upwards.
“Afterall, when the current foreign exchange was fixed, the price of crude wasn’t what it is today. But I think what has triggered this conversation is the fact that a couple of things have happened in this environment, arising from decisions by politicians and their collaborators in the private sector within the community of the elites.
“And so oil, at $140 was good, we emphasised on the need to save for the rainy day. How best to save for a nation? Do you save cash or do you secure the future by investing in critical infrastructural needs to position the economy for growth and attract investors and investment?
“So the CBN now decided to take some measures, which are beginning to hurt some people and which perhaps have triggered this controversy, rather than the government, as it used to be in the past, indicating their intention to devalue. It is a section of the people that are behind this agitation. Who are they?
“The investment bankers who want to play on CBN bonds and other commercial papers with hot money that they can move in and out. They don’t want any interference, you can use your visa to restrict and regulate the movement of human beings, but the CBN mustn’t use any instrument to regulate the movement of dollar in or out of the country, because if you do that you are interfering with their calculation. And you are interfering with their own projection.
“And the business of speculation will come under severe pressure. So, I will submit that those who are prosecuting are investment bankers, those who make money by just playing on exchange rate. In all, let’s not look at the value of the naira with respect to other currencies, but how much it can buy at home.”
Simon Kolawole, publisher of TheCable, said the programme was organised in order to expand the conversation on the economy.
Kolawole noted that the issue of devaluation had generated different reactions, expressing the belief that the policy dialogue would help in enlightening people not just on the exchange rate but the economy.
“When we set up TheCable, one thing we said we wanted to do was to be part of solving Nigeria’s problems; we don’t want to be part of the problems. Everybody has his own role to play. There are those who only want to complain that things are bad; they have their own role to play, and there are also people who want to be part of the solution. So, our own decision is that we are going to be part of the solution and here we are, holding our first colloquium, which is on the exchange rate.”
The panelists were Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Dertivatives; Issa Aremu, deputy national president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC); Moses Tule, director CBN monetary policy department; Muda Yusuf, director-general, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI).
