Obi, Atiku Reveal Plans to Save Naira as One Dollar Exchanges for N800 in Black Market
- Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, two presidential contenders, have unveiled their proposals to save the Naira
- Their plans are coming on the heels of the Naira exchange rate falling to N800 at the black market
- Atiku will run for president on the People Democratic Party platform, while Obi will run on the Labour Party platform
Two of the three expected front runners to replace President Muhammdu Buhari, Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi have outlined what they will do differently to save the Naira.
At the Lagos Business School's 26th alumni day on Tuesday, November 15, 2022, the candidates proposed various actions to restore the Nigerian currency's lost value.
Speaking, former vice president and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Atiku outlined a four-point agenda.
Source: Facebook
According to him, his agenda will enthrone an investor-friendly foreign exchange market in Nigeria.
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Atiku also promised that his administration will be anchored on a strong engagement with the private sector, BusinessDay reports.
His words:
"My administration will also remove the focus from demand management to putting measures in place to boost investment flows into the country by creating incentives for investors which will result in higher supply of foreign exchange.
We will also deal decisively with the malaise of crude oil theft which has hobbled production in Nigeria and compounded the country’s foreign currency supply crisis.
Atiku Abubakar stressed further that in the medium to long term, an investor-friendly environment in Nigeria will be established to boost local production while prioritizing exports as a pathway to enhancing the supply of foreign exchange.
Peter Obi plans to save Naira
The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, said one of his first plans would be to abandon the multiple exchange regime.
His plans were also published on his verified Twitter page obtained by Legit.ng.
According to Obi, the multiple exchange rate regime, which encourages capital flight and deters investment, has worsened the country’s forex situation.
His words:
“We will remove import and forex restrictions and insist on a single forex market. The current system penalizes exporters who bring in forex by forcing them to sell at a rate they cannot source for forex when they need to purchase forex.
“This multiple exchange rate regime encourages capital flight and deters investment, and worsens Nigeria’s forex situation.
“We must look beyond total dependence on oil. We will reduce the subsidy cost by over 50% with concomitant measures and counter-balance policies and programs to cushion the impact of the removal of oil subsidy.”
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, another major contender in the presidential race, and flag-bearer of the All Progressives Congress has not fully disclosed his plans for the Naira. He was quoted in one of his campaigns to have stated that if voted in as president in 2023, he will bring the naira at par with the dollar. He, however, did not spell out he was going to achieve the task.
Naira starts the week with a massive fall against the dollar
Meanwhile, Nigeria's CBN has another headache as Naira lost a huge chunk of its value recovered at the black market last week.
Legit.ng revealed that Many Nigerians who went to the black market to get FX were surprised by the sudden change as Naira exchanged to the dollar above N750.
Experts have reacted to the current state of the market while speaking on the impact on Nigerians and companies.
Source: Legit.ng
