Naira depreciation: APC chieftain wants Tinubu to cleanse the banks

By Jude Opara

As concerns continue to mount over the poor state of the economy, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Nze Chidi Duru has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately institute a total cleansing of the Nigerian banking system so as to save the dwindling Naira.
In a statement issued on Thursday, Duru who is also the Deputy National Organizing Secretary of the APC said the low value of the Naira has impacted very negatively on the nation’s economy, adding that the only way out is for government to take drastic steps to boost the national currency.
He said that because of the vast depreciation of the Naira, even the value of shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the stocks valuation now worth penny if valued in Dollar.
“The reality of my advocacy over the dwindling value of the Naira is coming nearer home. More than a month ago, I raised a concern over the low values of listed shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
“My argument then was that because of the vastly depreciated Naira, the value of all of our high-valuation stocks are at best penny stocks if the valuation were done in dollars.
Duru who is also a member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the APC said the members of the Presidential Economic Advisory Committee recently inaugurated by President Tinubu have a huge task on their hands, adding that they should strive to save their resources by saving the Naira.
“The Committee is composed of some of Nigeria’s biggest companies listed on the Nigeria Stock Exchange. I expressly call on members of the Committee to save their wealth by saving the Naira.
“On Monday 4 March 2024, the shares of Transcorp Power Plc were listed by introduction on the Nigeria Stock Exchange with an N1.8 trillion capitalization which is the total value of the company as of the day of its listing.
“Ordinarily, N1.8 trillion should sound extremely large but not against the N1,600/$ peg of the Naira-Dollar exchange rate on Wednesday 6 March 2024. At this rate, the value of the company in dollar terms is just some fractions above a billion dollars.
“Now, one can only imagine what the same N1.8 trillion valuation would have been if the Naira/Dollar exchange rate was N500/$. We would be talking of more than $3 billion. Or better still, if the Naira/Dollar exchange rate was N250/$, Transcorp Power Plc would be worth, at the listing, more than $7.2b”.
Duru who is also an entrepreneur and investor noted the stiff action taken against two Nigerian banks by the Central Bank of Ghana (CBG) over alleged foreign exchange infractions, a development he said was not surprising given the fact that the banks have severally been fingered in forex manipulations in Nigeria.
“I had always insisted, for good reasons, too, that Nigerian banks are culpable in the brazen manipulation of the foreign exchange rates in Nigeria. I had also called on Mr. President at different times to step into the arena to investigate and take action against these banks.
“Obviously, the GCB’s tolerance for manipulating banks is low and that was why it sanctioned the two banks. I wonder what the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the regulatory authority has been doing with banks in Nigeria with many obvious cases of infractions raised against them.

“Again, I call on Mr. President to step into the arena to sanitize the Nigerian banking system for the good of the Naira, the good of all Nigerians, and as an enduring legacy of his presidency” he concluded..