Buhari Explains Why He Opposes Naira Devaluation

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has given reasons he opposes the devaluation of the Naira, emphasising that his country cannot compete favourably with other producing nations.

President Buhari spoke on Saturday while contributing to a Presidential Panel Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening session of the ‘Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World’ at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

Self-sufficiency In Food

“Nigeria cannot compete with developed countries which produce to compete among themselves and could afford to devalue their local currencies.

“Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they devalue, they compete better and manufacture and export more.

“But we are not competing and exporting, but importing everything including toothpicks. So, why should we devalue our currency?” the President asked.

“We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other basic things such as clothing. For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency”.

The President stated that those who had developed taste for foreign luxury goods should continue to pay for them rather than pressuring government to devalue the Naira.

He expressed optimism that Nigeria would get out of its current economic downturn, pointing out that another major problem militating against economic revival was the huge resources deployed towards tackling insurgency and international terrorism.

Present at the talks were Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, presidents of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.

The President of the African Development Bank, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, also addressed the participants.