The Chief Executive Officer of the Economic Associates, Mr. Ayo Teriba at the weekend said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has retained interest rate at 14 percent for the past three years owing to what he called “inertia” in the nation’s economy.
The interest rate was last changed in July 2016 amidst the global cash crunch. Since then, the CBN has failed to slash the borrowing rate.
Speaking at the monthly lecture titled, “The Business Environment and Economic Outlook of the Nigerian Pharmaceutical Sector in 2019” organized by the Association of Industrial Pharmacists of Nigeria (NAIP), Teriba stressed that the government lacked enough money to stimulate the economy.
He spoke just as the National Chairman of NAIP, Mr. Ignatius Anukwu sought a clear-cut direction on the exchange rate regime in the year 2019 to prepare pharmaceutical manufacturers ahead.
According to the CEO of Economic Associates, the implementation of the Federal Government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) had been stunted by lack of funds.
He said inadequate capital in circulation could be gleaned from the MPC’s refusal to ease interest rate even as the country’s foreign reserve keeps shrinking.
He said, “Since 2016, you find out that MPC could not do anything. If they have reserves, they will definitely ease. If Nigerian foreign reserve would have been $100bn, the CBN will regain its monetary autonomy.
“Saudi Arabia with 40m nationals and 10m expatriates has over $500bn foreign reserve. They know the future of oil is bleak and they have responded to that. Nigeria needs to wake up”.
The President of Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Mazi Sam Ohuabunwa called for the right investments to stimulate the economy and reduce the unemployment rate.
According to him, unemployment is very much because government has not made the right investments to create jobs.
The NAIP chairman is concerned about dwindling access to foreign exchange to import the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) for the smooth operation of the pharmaceutical manufacturers.
He said, “Whatever happens to exchange rate is going to hit us very hard. If we are having difficulty accessing Forex, it is going to be a very big challenge for us. How is it going to happen?
“We heard some experts saying Naira maybe devalued a little bit, maybe it can go to about N388 again or whatever. So we want to know that ahead of time so that our Captains of industry would be better equipped”.
The Chairman of the occasion and CEO of Fidson Health Care Limited, Mr. Fidelis Ayebae decried the dearth of experienced pharmacists in the country, saying some of them now struggle to be salesmen.
He called for favourable government policies to encourage setting up of pharmaceutical industries and sustaining those already existing.
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