The presidency has urged Nigerians to be more creative so as to attract more foreign exchange following the scarcity of the United States dollars in the country.
The senior special assistant, (SSA) to president on media and publicity, Garba Shehu, made the statement on Friday, January 13, when featuring on Channels TV programme, Politics Today.
Shehu said the issue of dollar scarcity would have been worse but for the measures taken by the government. He said Nigerians could be more creative, by trying to export more and produce local goods that sell abroad, so that more dollars could come into the country.
He said: "Unfortunately, I am not an expert in these matters but to my layman’s understanding, we have a Dollar crisis. Dollar inflow into Nigeria is short. Whatever that is short in terms of supply creates demand in high proportions.
“It would have been worse if the government has not taken quite a number of measures including the restriction of our scares foreign exchanges to sectors that are very critical, that create jobs, that generate income to the country."
The presidential spokesperson said unlike what was practiced before; the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) doesn’t sell dollars anymore.
He said the selling of dollars is now the duty of the commercial banks.
Meanwhile, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said all efforts to save the naira, Nigeria’s legal tender, from falling against the dollar and other currencies have crumbled.
IMF said the challenges around foreign exchange in Nigeria have pushed inflation to double digits in Africa’s largest economy.
IMF said the failures in the economy were due to “delayed/poorly managed policy adjustment”.
The fund also said Nigeria’s financial developments affected neighbouring countries like Chad, which also plunged into a recession, and Benin.
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