He made this statement yesterday at the Nigerian Economic Society’s (NES) 2024 public lecture, “Recent Developments in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market: Issues, Options and Way Forward,” which was held in the CBN Centre of Excellence Hall at the University of Ibadan.
Elijah Laolu of IbadanNigerians have been urged to exercise patience by the Central Bank of Nigeria, as the central bank’s administration is making every effort to fortify the Naira.
At the event, Dr. Usman Opanachi, CBN’s Department of Monetary Policy, spoke on behalf of Central Bank Governor Dr. Olayemi Cardoso, saying, “Anytime Naira is on trial, the CBN is also on trial.” We are tackling the difficulties day and night in the hopes that everything will work out.
The exchange rate is relevant to almost every industry. Both inflation and the exchange rate are currently relatively high. On its own, the currency rate presents a challenge.
“Nigeria’s oversupply of foreign exchange is a well-known issue. It has simply always existed, and the bank has tried a number of different approaches to deal with it over the years. These tactics have only been able to offer some short-term respite.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria produces naira, not dollars. It neither supplies nor generates dollars. The management of CBN believes that there would come a point at which manipulating the price of a commodity set by Fx will become impossible
The new CBN management believes that the policies in place are meant to solve the issue. The market forces approach is the one that the management has chosen. The bank now permits market forces to have a bigger say in how much the naira is worth.
Renowned economist Prof. Sam Olofin, who gave the lecture in public, stated that the parallel market forces now have the upper hand and that the CBN will find it challenging to manage foreign exchange.He went on to say that the laws that created the foreign exchange do not permit anyone to call the market forces to order, which exacerbates the already dire situation.
He made the following statement regarding the development of the Nigerian foreign exchange market: “We are just giving patients the same old drugs with no positive results.”The CBN has no jurisdiction over the parallel markets.
“The choice of today’s theme is apt as it is perhaps the most important issue in Nigeria today,” said Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, President of the Nigerian Economic Society, in his welcome speech. He also recommended the FG to engage economists on the ailing economy. From Marina Street in Lagos to Bodija Market in Ibadan, from Aso Rock to the CBN offices and NNPC Towers, and from the fish vendor in Yenagoa to the suya vendor
[Everyone is talking about the currency rate, from the farmer in Markurdi to the people in Sokoto. Thus, the subject of the 2024 NES Public Lecture was selected.
[The government has implemented a number of circular policies in response to the severe and ongoing devaluation of the naira, particularly the CBN. Sometimes we are concerned that policies are rushed into action without fully considering their impact. Economic actors that continue to keep dollars outside of the banking system likely to adopt flight to safety postures in response to this activity, which tends to increase uncertainty.[
The field of economics includes the study of foreign exchange. One price is the exchange rate. But in an economy like ours that depends so heavily on imports, it is a price that affects the pricing of goods, money, and factor markets. Particularly in the previous six months, the currency rate has played a major role in driving up inflation. There is a significant exchange rate pass-through effect to other pricing.
[The Nigerian people are only concerned with finding solutions to the different problems, according to the event’s chairman, Prof. Antonia Simbine, Director General, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research.Prof. Olamakinde Olapegba (DVC Administration) represented Prof. Kayode Adebowale, the vice chancellor of the University of Ibadan, at the function.