VP Osinbanjo says devaluation of Naira is not an option

Vice president, Yemi Osinbajo yesterday said that further devaluation of Naira was not an option to solve the current economic down turn in the country.He talked about the Federal government's plan to set up a $25billion  Infrastructural Fund which would be sourced from local and international sources including Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund.

the Ambassadors of Italy Mr. Fulvio Rustico and the Canadian High Commissioner in Nigeria Mr. Perry John Calderwood in his office at the presidential villa, Abuja.

He said:

“I don’t agree on devaluation and it is not that I am doctrinaire about it. In the first place, it is not a solution-we are not exporting significantly. And the way things are, devaluation will not help the local economy.

“What we need to do is to start spending more on the economy and then things will ease up a bit.”

The Vice President disclosed that already other sovereign wealth funds have indicated interest in the fund which would be used to address the nation’s decaying road, rail and power infrastructures.

He added:

"This is our approach to speeding up the country’s infrastructural development.”

 

Osinbajo also said that the current foreign exchange restriction is only a temporary measure to ensure that “we don’t deplete our foreign exchange substantially,” at a time when the prices of oil in the international market is dropping.

He added that the restriction was for the benefit of the country's economic stability.

He said:

“I am not sure devaluation is the issue, but how to ensure foreign direct investment which is more useful”, he said.

The Vice President also reassured investors who already have contracts and loan commitments that the federal government would work with the Central Bank of Nigeria to protect legitimate businesses from being affected by the current foreign exchange restrictions.