Reps Committees to meet Cardoso over Naira depreciation

By Christiana Ekpa

The House of Representatives has mandated it committees on Banking Regulations and National Security and Intelligence to interface with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Yemi Cardoso.

This resolution was reached yesterday after the adoption of a motion moved by Ismaila Dabo during plenary.

In his motion, Dabo said the foreign exchange policy of the government is causing untold hardship “due to increased demand for dollars and a dollar shortage”.

He said: “Nigeria’s foreign exchange inflows are lagging despite unification in June.

“Nigeria’s foreign exchange inflows are lagging despite unification in June, with high demand for foreign currency and limited access to official markets incentivizing black market purchases; the naira has lost a greater percent of its value against the dollar, falling from N778.602/$ as of September 26 2023, and nearly N1000/$ at the parallel market, making it the first time Nigeria has liberalised the foreign exchange market,” he said.

Speaking in support of the motion, Ademorin Kuye said the issue has been further compounded by those using the dollar for domestic transactions.

“Today, if you want to fly foreign airlines, they charge you dollars. In some high-end markets, particularly the real-estate, they charge you dollars. This is criminal,” he said.

Following a long debate, the House resolved that the Federal Government should formulate policies and structural reforms to reduce corruption and promote economic diversification within the nation’s economy.

It also urged the Federal Government to promote exportation and reduce importation by enhancing foreign investors’ confidence in its fiscal and monetary policies.