A Professor with Edo University, Uzairue, Prof. David Osikhena Umoru, has cautioned the federal government against the further devaluation of the naira in the country.
He made the call while delivering the university’s 4th Inaugural Lecture series titled, “Devaluation of Naira, Shocks, and Realities: Evidence Disciplining Strength.”
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He said inconsistent macroeconomic policies were detrimental to the real effective naira-dollar exchange rate as well as employment generation.
He said, “Central monetary authority must not forget that the exchange rate is basically a price and in view of the collapse of oil price at the global market; auxiliary devaluation of the Naira would only lower the purchasing power of the final consumers and afterward exacerbate economic life of Nigerians.
“Nigerian political forces, illicit forex traders and collaborators with foreign interest would not totally allow market forces when it comes to naira/dollar exchange rate determination as they continually hype the market by manipulating the parallel rate.
“To save the value of the naira, the federal government has to work against a buildup of the underlying fundamentals of the Nigerian economy by managing unfriendly economic indicators such as inflation rate, interest rate, debt stock and unemployment.”
Umoru called on the government to strengthen non-oil production and rejuvenate the power sector in order to arrest the ugly economic scenario.
He recommended sectoral diversification policies that favour industrialisation, construction activities, solid minerals, and agriculture to grow the economy.
Earlier, the vice chancellor of the university, Prof. Emmanuel Aluyor, said the university had continued to bridge the gap and do all within its capacity to curb education tourism in the country.
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