REPS SUMMON SANUSI, OKONJO-IWEALA OVER NAIRA DEPRECIATION

ABUJA — Worried by the continued depreciation of the Naira, the House of Representatives, yesterday, summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to appear before its committees on Finance, Banking and Currency, and National Planning and Economic Development and explain why the ugly trend has persisted.

This was consequent upon the adoption of a motion sponsored by Rep Odebunmi Olusegun Dokun titled the ‘Need to check the continuous devaluation of the Naira’.

Leading the debate on the issue, Dokun who traced the history of Naira and Kobo as Nigeria’s currencies until the establishment of the West Africa Currency Board in 1973, lamented the steady slide trailing the Naira, stressing that the nation’s economy in the future would be in serious danger.

His words: “There has been a continuous decrease in the Naira value over the years against major currencies in the world. A critical look at these last few years, taking the US Dollar as a basis for comparison shows that around 1990 to 1993, it was about N28 to a Dollar; around 1994 to 1996, it was about N40 to a Dollar; around 1996 to 1999, it was about N80 to a Dollar; around 1999 to 2007, it was about N140 to a Dollar; and around 2007 to date, it is about N158 to a Dollar. This has shown a continuous devaluation in Naira without any improvement, and if this downward trend persists, it will affect Nigeria’s economy and the future of the nation in general,” he said.

Adopting the report, the House gave the committee a period of six weeks to report back to it.

Culled: Vanguard