The Federal Government has stated that it has plans to strengthen the naira, Nigeria’s local currency, against dollars, News About Nigeria reports.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Olawale Edun, made this known on Wednesday while speaking on the sidelines of the World Bank/IMF annual meetings in Washington DC.
He noted that the government is making key efforts to de-dollarise the economy, adding that plans are underway to strengthen the local currency.
The minister stated that the move is part of efforts by the fiscal authorities to complement the efforts of the monetary policy authorities and drive necessary economic reforms.
He noted that de-dollarisation entails a significant reduction in the use of dollars in world trade and financial transactions, decreasing national, institutional, and corporate demand for the greenback.
Mr. Edun further noted that fuel subsidy removal and related foreign exchange subsidy removal mean there will be a flow of funds to government coffers.
He said, “There is also a move to dedollarise the Nigerian economy,” adding that local providers of services, regulators, and others are being asked to “invoice in Naira rather than dollars.”
“It reduces the value of the dollar and, of course, increases the demand for the naira.
“I think we must not miss the fact that the number one source of foreign exchange revenue to Nigeria is oil production, and they are facing a direction that is positive and should yield very good results in the near time.”
The event, tagged Global Investors’ Forum, had in attendance policy experts, market analysts, investors, fund managers, and civil society organisations.
