Lagos – Prof. Sheriffadeen Tella, a Senior Economist at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, on Thursday urged Nigerians to patronise locally manufactured foods as a way of reducing capital flight.
Tella told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that Nigerians should show patriotism toward the country by consuming “what we produce locally’’.
“If we look inwards by patronising locally manufactured goods, importation will reduce. We have to start consuming what we produce in order to reduce capital flight,’’ Tella said.
On new forex regime, the don explained that allowing market forces to determine the exchange rate could force currency hoarders to release currencies in their possession.
The don noted that there could be a freefall of the naira at the initial stages in the implementation of the regime, but that the currency could eventually recover.
Tella said he expected the CBN to intervene more in the short term than in the long term in the interbank forex market.
The CBN rose from its last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting with a resolve to liberalise the foreign exchange market.
The apex bank noted that `operating a floating exchange regime’ would reduce pressures on the nation’s foreign reserves thereby shoring up the value of the naira in the long run.
The implementation of the new policy, had seen a drastic reduction in the difference between the interbank rate as against those of the parallel market.
The naira closed trading at N284 to the dollar at the interbank market while it traded at N335 to the dollar at the parallel market. (NAN)
