News

PIC.14. FROM LEFT: PERMANENT SECRETARY,
STATE HOUSE, MR NEBOLISA EMORDI;
CBN GOVERNOR, MR GODWIN EMEFIELE; VICE-
PRESIDENT YEMI OSINBAJO AND
PRESIDENT MUHAMMADU BUHARI, DURING THE
INAUGURATION OF NATIONAL ECONOMIC
COUNCIL AT THE PRESIDENTIAL VILLA IN ABUJA ON
MONDAY (29/6/15).
5067/29/6/2015/ICE/CH/NAN
Mr Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of
Nigeria, said on Friday that the apex bank had no
intention to further devalue the nation’s currency.
He told State House correspondents that the last
devaluation took place in February and would remain
so for now.
“There has been a lot of talk on whether or not we
want to depreciate our currency again.
“The truth is that we had adjusted the currency by
depreciating it from N155 to N197 in February this
year.
“There is no intention to depreciate or adjust the
currency any longer’’, he said.
According to him, “the President has been very clear
on this; the Vice President has been very clear on this
and let me further reiterate our position at the CBN
that we are not considering any further depreciation
of the currency.’’
He said the focus of the bank was how to deepen the
foreign exchange market to make it viable.
“What we are trying to concentrate on right now is
how to improve and deepen the foreign exchange
market by improving supply of foreign exchange into
the market.
“And to do so, we are trying to encourage people to
export and earn your export proceeds and use your
export proceeds to import whatever you need to
import.
“We are also concentrating on how to reduce the
import of items that we can produce in the country
today.’’
Emefiele said that very soon the CBN would be
launching a campaign called PAVE, which means
“Produce locally, add value and export your product
and earn your foreign exchange for your imports.’’
He said the campaign was the only way producers
could support the efforts of CBN in intervening and
providing foreign exchange in the market to meet the
import needs of the people.
“It is very clear, what we need to do is reduce our
propensity to import but we will not depreciate our
currency. For now we will not.’’
On the list of items in the import prohibition list, he
said had no power to ban the importation of any
item.
“What we have done is to exclude certain items that
are imported into the country from obtaining foreign
exchange from the Nigerian foreign exchange market.
“Yes, it is also true we held a stakeholders’ meeting
with the organized private sector and prominent and
leading private sector stakeholder were at that
meeting.
“The purpose was to engage the private sector to
make the private sector understand that government
realizes that they are engine of growth.
“We also used the opportunity to explain to them the
basis and purpose of those policies that we have
introduced.
“At the end of that meeting they were very happy,
they saw our position and indeed at the end of that
meeting some of them provided us with the names of
some items that should be included in the list that
should be excluded from foreign exchange.
“And I must confess that at this stage, given the
determination of some of the organized sectors to
say that yes, they produce these items and that we
should exclude those items from foreign exchange,
we are reviewing that list.
“We may in due course include more items, products
that can be produced in Nigeria, in the list of items
that will be excluded from foreign exchange in the
Nigerian foreign exchange market.’’
(NAN)