In order to stem the free fall of the Naira, Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Delta North, Prince Chinedu Munir Nwoko, has called for a complete ban on dollar transactions in Nigeria.
Speaking at Senate plenary, the businessman cum lawmaker noted that Naira has been relegated to the background while dollar is visible on the surface, thereby making the Nigeria’s currency depreciate.
According to him, Nigeria cannot survive with the use of dual currencies, hence, dollar should be banned completely in the country for Naira to rise again even as he called for the end of other policies that put the naira at a disadvantaged position.
Nwoko stressed that the use of naira should be made compulsory for everyone in the country as the only legal tender.
He explained that tourists should come into the country with naira, crude oil should be sold in naira as it will help the demand for naira become equivalent in other countries.
He further stated that it may be difficult at first, but it must be done to salvage the Nigerian currency.
“If we don’t get our currency to be needed, valued, known, and quoted, no one is coming to do it for us. Continued acceptance of the dollar as legal tender undermines our economic sovereignty and must be halted. We must stop giving people the confidence to conduct business in Nigeria using foreign currencies. This practice not only undermines our economy but also perpetuates dependency on foreign currencies,” the lawmaker stated.
Speaking about the economy, Ned Nwoko said: “In an economy of this nature, we must think of consumers, the interest rate in Nigeria is currently unacceptable, we must think of an interest rate that is not more than 5%, so that people can begin to borrow, if people can not borrow, they can not
survive, we must be able to borrow at an acceptable interest rate.”
