Abuja – A financial expert, Dr Uche Uwaleke, has applauded recent moves by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to further boost the country’s currency.
Uwaleke made the commendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja.
He said the decision by the CBN to disallow corporate account holders from using naira denominated cards for cross border transactions was a step in the right direction.
“The CBN has also restricted cash deposits into domiciliary account and placed limit on cash with-drawer .
“ There have been concerns of dollarisation of the economy, money laundering and illicit transfer of funds in the country.
“ So, all these measures by the CBN are meant to not only strengthen the value of naira but also check illicit transfer of funds in the system,’’ he said.
According to Uwaleke, there is a limit to the use of devaluation as a policy instrument since it has been tried twice in the country and it did not help matters.
He said that the reliable option for the country at this stage of strengthening the naira was the recent moves by the CBN.
On the issue of continued crisis in the capital market, Uwaleke said that what was important for the country to do was to focus more in diversifying the economy.
According to him, China is one of Nigeria’s major consumers of oil and it is only natural that if there are crises in their economy it will have impact on our economy.
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He said the recent crisis in China would affect the country’s capacity to purchase oil and since Nigeria depended on oil as major source of revenue, there would be decrease in revenue.
“ It is difficult to make predictions on the oil price, what is important for us to do is to continue to focus on diversification; we need to reduce emphasis on oil.
“ If we can block this loop holes and put in more money into our local productions, it will go a long way to help us appreciate the naira.
Uwaleke also commended the plan by the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service to ensure the implementation of tax as an alternative source of revenue for the country.
He said, “ I think it is a step in the right direction because many countries depend on tax as their major source of revenue and here we are depending entirely on oil.’’
Also speaking to NAN, Mr Patrick Ajudua, National Chairman, New Dimension Shareholders Association, urged the Federal Government to focus on diversifying the economy.
He urged the government to direct more resources to other sectors of the economy such as agriculture and textile to divert interest from oil.
He urged ministries and parastatal agencies to be prudent in their endeavours, to improve the economy. (NAN)
