As the exchange rate between US dollar and Naira continues to favour the dollar, which also has led to forex scarcity and many gaps between the official and parallel market exchange rates, economic experts have applauded forex police which Peter Obi said he would implement if elected in 2023 election.
Newsonline reports that the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Harvard University Campus in interaction with Harvard Business School intellectuals said multiple exchange rate is worsening Nigeria’s forex situation because it is causing capital flight and deters investment.
The former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi stated that his administration if elected “will remove import and forex restrictions and insist on a single forex market. The current system penalizes exporters who bring in forex by forcing them to sell at a rate that they are unable to source for forex when they need to purchase forex.”
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He argued that “This multiple exchange rate regime encourages capital flight and deters investment, which has further worsened Nigeria’s forex situation.
Reacting to the policy the Labour Party presidential candidate said he would implement to save the forex and Nigeria’s economy, financial expert, Kalu Aja, said, “This is significant a policy shift by Peter Obi.
Kalu stated that “If implemented, the Naira will appreciate and export remittances rise.”
Another contributor, Alan Covers, an Atlanta-based economist, said, “This will be a major policy shift. I will suggest that we ensure a verifiable alternate non-Oil export to complement crude Oil sales, incentivize investment in crude oil, stop the Oil theft. Also, ensure that Dangote refinery is functional and oil subsidy regime abandoned .”
In a short affirmation of the forex policy Obi intends to implement if elected, Dr. Tayo Oyedeji, an economic expert said “This policy proposal solves the problem highlighted above.”
The Nigerian youths choice further added that if elected, his top priorities on getting into office would be, “Production-centered growth for food security and export; securing and Uniting Nigeria; effective legal and institutional reforms (rule of law, corruption and government effectiveness); leapfrogging Nigeria from oil to the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR); expanding physical infrastructure through market-driven reforms (unleashing growth-enabling entrepreneurship and market-creating innovations); human capital development that empowers competitiveness; and; robust foreign policy that restores Nigeria’s strategic relevance.
