Naira not devalued says CBN Deputy Governor.

Newly appointed Deputy Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria,  Dr. Joseph Nnana, on Wednesday clarified that the apex bank had not devalued the naira as widely reported in the media.

Rather,  he said the CBN merely announced the exchange rate in compliance with market forces.

Nnana, stated this in the National Assembly when he appeared for screening before the Senate Committee on Banking, Finance and other Financial Institutions.

He said, “The Central Bank did not devalue the naira so to speak, it only followed the three principal markets in Nigeria.  The official,  the retail and the parallel.”

He explained that the CBN will not pursue the policy permanently, adding that it will elapse with the current positive transformation in the agricultural sectors which would make it possible for products to be exported and bring more foreign exchange, to the country.

He said, “We better do it now than later when we will have import control which would bring about essential commodity crisis. Nigerians should be patient. Unfortunately Nigerians are always in a hurry. Let us give central bank time to pursue a policy that will be a blessing to all of us. I commend the CBN for being proactive with the policy.”

Nnana said another way to wriggle out of the economic crisis is to  recapitalise development banks with a view to encouraging them to lend at controlled interest rates.

He said, “My take is that since we have development banks like the Bank of Industry,  Nexim bank,  Bank of Agriculture, and so on, we can recapitalise all of them and mandate them to lend at a fixed interest rate for the entrepreneurs and other willing investors in the Nigerian economy.

Source: Punch