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The Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo has ruled out the possibility of devaluing the naira, explaining that it was not an appropriate option in the current economic realities.
Osinbajo reiterated the government’s position while receiving the Italian Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Fulvio Rustico; and the Canadian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Mr. Perry Calderwood, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
According to a statement by the Senior Special Assistant – Media and Publicity to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier expressed his views that a further devaluation of the Nigerian currency is not healthy for the Nigerian economy.
“I don’t agree with 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”, the Vice-President said.
“What we need to do is to start spending more on the economy and then things will ease up a bit,” he said.
The Vice President outlined the Federal Government’s plans to set up a $25 billion infrastructural fund which would be sourced from local and international sources including through Nigeria’s Sovereign Wealth Fund and also the pension fund among others.
He disclosed that the fund would be used to address the nation’s decaying road, rail and power infrastructures.
“This is our approach to speeding up the country’s infrastructural development,” he added.
Professor Osinbajo also stated that the current foreign exchange restriction is 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”.
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