The Bank Customers Association of Nigeria (BCAN) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to sustain its ongoing reforms to ensure the steady recovery of the Naira in the foreign exchange market.
BCAN President, Dr Uju Ogubunka, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Lagos, following the continued appreciation of the Naira at the official foreign exchange market.
NAN reports that the local currency closed bullish on Friday, appreciating to N1,455.17 against the dollar at the official window.
Data from the CBN showed that the Naira gained N11.48, or 0.78 per cent, compared to N1,466.65 to the dollar on Thursday.
The Naira, however, recorded a marginal depreciation of 0.05 per cent on Tuesday, trading at N1,471.08, while it exchanged at N1,470.26 on Monday.
Reacting to the trend, Ogubunka, a financial expert, urged the apex bank to sustain the measures responsible for the recent gains.
“Let the CBN keep doing whatever it has been doing that made the Naira appreciate. Let them do more of it. They should sustain the reforms,” he said.
He attributed the Naira’s improvement to monetary policy controls that regulate money supply, stressing that such measures were helping to stabilise the currency and strengthen economic growth.
The BCAN president, however, called for complementary fiscal measures to boost local manufacturing and productivity for the gains to translate into better living conditions for Nigerians.
“People are still suffering due to low purchasing power. We should increase productivity, tackle insecurity, and attract more investors to bring funds into the system so that more people can be employed.
“Once we can do some of these things, the economy will begin to move up, and as long as the economy grows, the Naira will continue to appreciate.
“However, if there is too much money in circulation, the Naira will not appreciate as expected,” he said.
