On Sunday, the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) bemoaned the terrible effects of the foreign exchange crisis on the country’s economy and called for immediate currency stabilization.
News About Nigeria reports that in a statement released on Sunday, NLC President Joe Ajaero attributed the depreciation of the national currency to government officials’ fondness for high-end, foreign goods.
If the naira failed to stabilize versus the US dollar, Ajaero warned that the economy could face “a wave of devastating consequences.”
The warning from the NLC president came before today’s (Monday) meeting between organized labor and the federal government.
The implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding on subsidy withdrawal palliatives that the Federal Government and organized labor signed will be reviewed during the meeting.
The president of the NLC stated that the general public and laborers would be affected by the weaker currency in a statement headed “Urgent action to stabilise the naira amidst alarming depreciation.”
The parallel market, where the majority of people and companies receive their foreign exchange, traded at more than N1,000/$, while the investor and exporter window has remained comparatively stable at about N770 to 780/$.
The devaluation of the naira on the black market has been ascribed to a rise in demand for foreign exchange that is outpacing supply from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Due to this downturn, firms are already having difficulty obtaining raw materials, and many are preparing to lay off employees or close their doors. The falling value of the naira forces manufacturers to reduce imports of raw materials, employment, and production.
