“USD Locked Up in Private Vaults”: Former Rep Speaker Mentions How Politicians, Others Spoil Naira
- A former speaker said that the unused foreign currency stashed away in private safes can be released by the government to help stabilise the weak naira
- According to him, as long as we don't lose our desire for US dollar, the currency of choice for many Nigerians, there isn't really anything to lose
- He said that Nigerians no longer regard their money as a store of value, and the government must move swiftly to win back their confidence
Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market.
Yakubu Dogara, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives has proposed the monetary authorities stabilise the weak naira by releasing idle foreign cash that is hidden in private vaults.
Source: UGC
Dogara, who served as Speaker from 2015 to 2019, gave a speech on Wednesday at The Platform Nigeria, a 2024 Democracy Day conference with the theme "Democracy and the free Market Economy."
According to a channels report, he said that US dollars are now the preferred currency among Nigerians and that there is no real value to be gained as long as we don't lose our appetites for them.
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Dogara claimed that because the value of the naira has dropped from over N800/$1 in May 2023 to roughly N1,500/$1 at the moment, Nigerians no longer trust the currency as a store of value and the government needs to act quickly to regain their trust.
He said,
“The USD is not going away anytime soon. The challenge before the government is how to unlock and make the USD locked up in private vaults in Nigeria begin to chase the naira. That to me, is the commonsensical solution. I believe we have enough dollars in this country that we can unlock to make our economy work and crash the FX rate.”
How to save naira
Dogara said that selling crude oil in naira rather than dollars should be a policy adopted by the government.
He stated that in order to do this, the government must insist on receiving payment in naira for all Nigerian exports, including those of crude oil, just as Nigerians do not pay in naira for any imports into the nation.
He suggested that security services investigate and apprehend politicians and influential people who are storing cash in secret safes.
Dogara said,
“Government, through credible intelligence generated by security agencies, ought or should know those individuals in Nigeria who have taken advantage of the system and they have idle USD stashed in their private vaults.
“Should they fail to respond, it is my considered opinion that Mr President should invoke and apply the MBS solution, the Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Saudi Arabia.
Report predicts 3 sources Nigeria will get dollars
Legit.ng reported that a recent quarterly statistical bulletin from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has highlighted that foreign exchange (FX) consumers consumed more dollars in the three months ending in December 2023 than they did in the previous quarter.
Despite this, Nigeria is still hopeful about receiving additional FX inflows in 2024.
The inflows will most likely come from World Bank budget finance, NNPC-related flows, and Eurobond issuance.
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Source: Legit.ng
