The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, has urged Nigerians to reduce their demand for forex.
“We must restrict our forex demands. “We should substitute locally wherever possible,” stated the CBN governor during a Friday hearing before the Senate Joint Committees on Finance, Banking and Other Financial Institutions, and National Planning.
While making this proposal, Cardoso recommended the Federal government to look at improving the educational and medical sectors as a means of discouraging people from travelling outside the country to get better services.
”The total quantum for education and medical is more than our external reserves. If we can up our game on education, and medicals, there won’t be the need for our people to go abroad.”
The continual scramble for the dollar by Nigerians to pay tuition fees as well as medical and import bills has continued to pile pressure on the Niara. With limited access to forex, many have turned to the black market as a viable option,
Speaking on monetary policies to tackle the ongoing inflation in the country, the CBN governor, insisted the switch to a single rate was an intentional model to help improve investment credibility in the country
”We are working very hard to bring back credibility to the CBN and many of the investors who over the years have considered the environment inimical, we don’t have to beg them,” he said
”If we are doing the right thing, investors will come. For them to come, they have to believe that you will do the right things. I also want to say that in establishing credibility, there are certain things that we need to do.”
He equally noted that the apex bank had little power to intervene but would explore partnerships to ease the Forex crisis