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The Deputy Governor, Corporate Services, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Alhaji Suleiman Barau, has stated that contrary to speculations that the naira is not measuring well against the dollar, the nation’s currency has outperformed the greenback and other international currencies.
Speaking in Lagos Tuesday at a public policy forum tagged, “Saving the future: Challenges of the New Nigeria,” put together by Hallmark Newspapers Limited, Suleiman said the naira only recorded a slight depreciation at the Bureau De Change (BDC) market and has since stabilised following measures put in place by the CBN.
According to him, “The naira is not falling. The most important aspect of the market is the interbank market and the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) and the naira has not depreciated in these markets.
“We had a slight depreciation on the BDC market and we are addressing that. As you may know, the parallel market is less than five per cent of the entire money market, so no one can claim that the naira is falling.”
On analysts’ forecast that the naira may decline further against the dollar in 2014, he said such position was not correct when measured against the nation’s economic indicators.
“There is no reason for anybody to speculate that the naira will fall drastically against the dollar next year. The economy is growing, the country’s fundamentals are very strong, our external reserves is stable and we have a credible central bank. There is no reason for anybody to think in that direction,” he said.
Earlier, the keynote speaker and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank Plc, Dr. Alex Otti, said Nigeria had failed to take the necessary steps forward because past leaders did not invest in education and critical infrastructure.
He stated that the type of future the country created depends on how it capitalise on inflection points on one hand and the quantum and quality of investments it makes in some of its critical sectors today.
He added that the order of priority would determine how the country allocates the monies available to each sector.
He also pointed out that one of the challenges facing Nigeria was that it was a mono-product and commodity based economy with oil as the major income earner.
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