The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has stated that a weak naira offers an opportunity for Nigeria to enhance its exports to other countries.
Cardoso made these remarks on Wednesday in Abuja during the Nigerian Economic Summit (NES).
He noted that despite the weak currency, there are still investment opportunities available.
He said: “In terms of persuasion, what we need now is to ensure that investments are here. Take, for example, now it may seem like a threat in the sense that the exchange rate has come down so low.
“But that also is an opportunity because what that means is that it can help to boost your exports. This will make Nigeria to become a lot more competitive in the export trade. I just want to encourage people to say that the opportunities are here. Things are recalibrating in a particular direction. It’s not perfect, but definitely there opportunities for people to single out and invest.
“By the time you are exporting out to other countries with the cost of import here and the relatively low naira, you will have a situation where you have to do things like that. And I see it happening. Others are doing it and the interest is growing in leaps and bounds.”
Cardoso emphasized the viewpoint of Indermit Gill, the Chief Economist of the World Bank Group, that Nigeria must sustain its current reforms for the next 10 to 15 years to effectively transform its economy.
He further revealed that not only the World Bank but also other financial institutions and rating agencies have praised the central bank’s efforts in driving economic transformation.
As a result, Cardoso asserted that to fully realize the benefits of the implemented policies, the bank must remain committed to its course.
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He said: “The issue of the World Bank Chief Economist. I wasn’t here. But I read the speech. To be honest, my interpretation wasn’t how others perceived it. I think he was basically misunderstood.
“My understanding of what he said is that the policies that the Central Bank is taking are putting Nigeria on the right track.
“Frankly, I did not mention the World Bank when I said earlier that if you look at the rating agencies and other international financial institutions, it’s all the same thing. And they are all saying the same thing. And I doubt that they might all be wrong.”
In its latest edition of the Africa’s Pulse report, the World Bank ranked the naira among the worst-performing currencies in sub-Saharan Africa for 2024.
The report indicated that the naira’s decline is on par with that of the Ethiopian Birr and the South Sudanese Pound.
It attributed the naira’s depreciation over recent months to the ongoing increase in demand for U.S. dollars, coupled with limited dollar inflows.
As of August, the report noted that the naira had lost approximately 43 percent of its value.
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