Nigerians Urged to Save in Foreign Currencies as Naira Continues to Depreciate

Laoye Jaiyeola, Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG), has stated that the depreciation of Naira has become concerning, urging Nigerians not to save in their local currency.

Laeoye Jaiyelo revealed this during NESG 2022 Macroeconomic Outlook Report in Abuja, on the 25th January 2022

His words; “Why should you tell anybody in Nigeria to store his money in naira,” Mr Jaiyeola said. “When your interest rate on naira in some places is even lower than the interest rate of some foreign currency?”

He further castigated the current government’s processes towards fiscal policies which shape the economy.

“the challenge to the poor forex supply in Nigeria is mainly attributable to the lack of diversification of forex sources, with colossal dependence on crude oil export proceeds and, more recently, foreign borrowings.”

The report by the Nigeria Economic Summit Group stated that feasible and distinct forex policy must be implemented to attract foreign direct investment and stabilize Naira.

“Faced with the continued dwindling of the external reserves, the apex bank resorted to exchange rate devaluation and forex rationing among end-users,”. “These challenges send wrong signals to prospective investors who are more concerned about the safety of their investments (particularly forex repatriation at maturity of investments, in addition to returns).”

In solving Nigeria’s economic crisis, the NESG recommended functional border control and monitoring procedure which will improve investment inflow and reduce capital control through the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA),

The NESG also stated that availability of foreign exchange is of primary importance, prioritizing non-oil forex sources and  enhancing the quality of import substitutes and the fixing of local refineries or construction of new infrastructure.