ABUJA – The Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR) on Friday advised the Federal Government not to be in a haste to devalue the naira.
The Registrar of the institute, Dr David Ogogo, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Ogogo urged the Federal Government to watch and study events as they related to the price of oil in the global market before taking action.
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“I don’t know if that is the best way to go now, the government will be a little bit hasty if it devalues our currency now.
“It is better to look at the trend first and study the situation carefully because if we devalue our currency, we cannot just easily revalue it. So, it’s better to study (the situation first); I don’t subscribe to it.“
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He urged the Federal Government to open up the non-oil sectors of the economy and make them major sources of income for the country.
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“Apart from oil what other thing do we produce? We have agriculture and tourism; we should focus on these areas and boost them as against concentrating on oil whose price is already going down.“
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He also called for the removal of oil subsidy, saying that the proceeds should be used to solve the infrastructure problems of the country.
“Fuel subsidy has not helped in anyway; my own feeling is that subsidy should not even be there at all. The best way to go is for fuel subsidy to be removed.
“The government has already displayed some level of transparency and seriousness in trying to make sure it solves the problems facing the country.
“So, when the fuel subsidy is totally removed, the proceeds should be used to solve the problems of the country.“ (NAN)
