Naira depreciation: Senate grills CBN gov

Naira depreciation: Senate grills CBN gov

By Our Reporter  on January 20, 2016   Business
…Makes U-turn on forex
From Fred Itua, Abuja
Moved my the free fall of the naira against major international currencies, Senators, yesterday, grilled the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele in an executive session.
Speaking on the outcome of the meeting, which lasted for over an hour, spokesman of the Senate, Senator Abdullahi Sabi, said Emefiele’s appearance before lawmakers was in tandem with the provisions of the constitution.
“We received the CBN governor today and he briefed us on the state of the economy and activities of the bank. What he did today is in line with the provisions of the constitution. He touched on global economic conditions,” he said.
“He told us that we are not immune from the external shocks of the world. He drew instances from international occurrences and their effects on the Nigerian economy. He also gave us insights into the various policy actions the bank has taken over the month.
“Based on his analysis, it is clear that the Nigerian economy is not doing bad. We asked the CBN governor questions on the suspension of BDCs from accessing foreign exchange. The Senate acknowledged the pains Nigerians are facing,” he added.
Sabi said contrary to an earlier position taken by the Senate, that the CBN needed to relax its foreign policy regime, he said it was clear that their actions were in the best interest of the country.
Sabi said: “But having listened to the CBN governor, we fully support him. The actions are meant to strengthen local production and build resilience in the Nigerian economy. We believe that we will come off it.
“The demand for forex in Nigeria is guided by artificial demands. We will come up policies to enable the CBN determine requests that are genuine. Let me say that the policy of the government is yielding some fruits. It has stabilized the economy.”