EGYPT: Buhari Rules Out Devaluation, Asks Luxury Seekers To Pay More

President Mohammadu Buhari

PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has restated that his government has no plans to devalue the country’s currency adding that devaluation would not be in the interest of the nation as Nigeria is not yet a certified exporting nation, and therefore ruled it out that he would reject the policy if presented to him in the overall interest of the nation.

The president stated this in the interactive session at a Presidential Panel Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening session of the Africa 2016 themed: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

The president stated that on assumption of office, his administration considered it necessary to diversify the economy from a mono-system to agriculture and solid minerals development towards ensuring that the economy of the nation is restricted to be able to face the present economic crises across the globe due to rapid slump in the prices of oil.

He emphatically said the administration focused on three areas; security, restructuring of the economy and eradication of corruption in the country adding that there are progress in the three areas at the moment. Besides that, the President noted that Nigeria being a mono-economy dependent on oil, and with a teeming unemployed youth population, the reasonable option for the administration is to focus on agriculture and solid minerals development adding that land is already available.

“The land is there and we need machinery inputs, fertilizer and insecticides,” Buhari succinctly said.

On his raison d'être against the devaluation of the naira, President Buhari said Nigeria cannot

compete with developed countries which produce to compete among themselves, and can afford to devalue their local currencies, and therefore urged the proponents of devaluation who wished for it in view of their high taste for foreign-luxury goods to be ready to pay more as his administration is not thinking on that direction.

“Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they devalue they compete better and manufacture and export more. But we are not competing and exporting but importing everything including toothpicks. So, why should we devalue our currency?” the President questioned.

“We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other basic things such as clothing. For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency,” President Buhari said.

The President also commended the international community on its cooperation both on the insurgency and the anti-graft fight noting that most countries are cooperating with the country which makes it difficult for those with stolen loots to hide the public funds in their countries.