FG's Ministerial Retreat: Osinbajo Speaks on How to Manage Nigeria's Foreign Exchange Rate
- As the Buhari administration takes stock of its achievements over the years, VP Osinbajo has listed interventions made by the government in various sectors
- The vice president made a presentation at the opening of the 3rd ministerial performance review retreat in Abuja
- The vice president also spoke on the need to ensure synergy between fiscal and monetary policy in order to better manage the economy and exchange rate concerns
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Aso Rock - Vice President Prof. Yemi Osinbajo has again spoken on the need for an effective synergy between the fiscal and monetary aspects of Nigeria’s economy and how to better manage the country's foreign exchange rate.
He spoke at the Buhari administration’s ministerial retreat declared open by President Muhammadu Buhari at the State House Conference Center at the Presidential Villa on Monday, October 17.
Source: Twitter
The annual retreat is being attended by all ministers and heads of agencies and parastatals.
In his presentation titled: The Buhari administration: Reflections on the journey so far, the VP who detailed some of the game changing achievements of the federal government said there some areas of concern in the economy.
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He said:
“The first is the synergy between fiscal and monetary policy. The failure of that synergy has led to unnecessary drawbacks in our economic performance and planning. What imports are eligible for foreign exchange must agree with the fiscal ambitions for manufacturing and industry."
“Currently such decisions on import eligibility for foreign exchange for instance is being taken solely by the monetary arm, although fiscal arm would normally be expected to lead in such matters.
“Our exchange rate management continues to be an issue. The exchange rate of the naira to convertible currencies continues to face significant downward pressure because demand substantially outstrips supply.
“That is just the reality. On one hand we have tried demand management and rationing, which has not really worked because fixing the price while the parallel market reveals a massive arbitrage merely creates the opportunity for massive rents.
“It will also compound the backlog of remittances for foreign businesses who want to repatriate their earnings.
“The discussion that we must now have and going forward is how best to manage the situation by finding a mechanism for increasing supply and moderating demand which will be transparent and will boost confidence.
“I think that a more market driven approach will be best, some price discovery within the context of a managed float is certainly required.”
He also spoke about the success of the Social Investment Programmes and the improvements in generating capacity in the power sector and the Solar Power Naija which is in the process of providing off-grid power to about 20million Nigerians.
The vice president further gave updates about the progress in digital economy with the sector contributing over 18% to GDP in the second quarter of 2020, almost three times the oil and gas contribution.
VP shares video snippets of his presentation on social media
Sharing snippets of his presentation on his Twitter page, Osinbajo wrote:
“Today, we are attending the annual ministerial retreat and in reflecting on the journey so far; I shared some of the game changing achievements of the federal government and some of the areas of concern in the economy.
“The first is the synergy between fiscal and monetary policy. The failure of that synergy has led to unnecessary drawbacks in our economic performance and planning. What imports are eligible for foreign exchange must agree with the fiscal ambitions for manufacturing and industry.
“The second is that our exchange rate management continues to be an issue. The exchange rate of the naira to convertible currencies continues to face significant downward pressure because demand substantially outstrips supply. That is just the reality.”
Alignment of values, shared public spirit higher than other leadership factors - Akande
Meanwhile, spokesman of the vice president, Laolu Akande on Wednesday, October 12 said every leader must stay focused on promoting the right values.
Akande also stated that leaders must ensure that those values also align more with the common good of society, and not sectional interests tweeting:
“When a leader is entrusted with the destiny of a nation, what matters most in his/her circle of associates is the alignment of values and shared public spirit. Otherwise, people in high offices can be very loyal to each other and among themselves for the bastardization of the common good.”
Nigerians recall Osinbajo’s unifying role as political season thickens with divisive rhetoric
In a related development, as the 2023 general elections draws nearer, VP Osinbajo has cautioned against divisive rhetoric in the country.
Sharing a video when he called for national unity and social cohesion among Nigerians in 2021, Osinbajo said citizens must deepen the meaning and durability of their citizenship.
The reminder by the vice president was lauded by Nigerians who thanked the nation's number two citizen for his consistent role in nation-building.
Source: Legit.ng
