Produce goods and services, export- CIBN president

In order to strengthen Nigeria’s currency, Dr Bayo Olugbemi, the president of the Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, has said that the country needs to produce goods and services that will be exported.

Speaking in an interview with journalists in Ibadan on Monday, the CIBN president said Nigeria’s reliance on imported goods with very little to export, was the cause of the steady decline in the value of the naira.

Olugbemi said the continous importation of petroleum products and reliance on mono-economy would keep the value of the naira in steady decline.

He further said Nigeria must refine crude oil locally and diversify into agriculture in order to strengthen its currency.

“What we need to do to increase the value of naira is to produce goods for export. We have been sending our oil abroad for them to refine and bring it back to us at higher cost. So, we need to start refining it in Nigeria”, he said.

“When we refine in Nigeria, we will spend less foreign exchange. When you have few forex chasing goods and services to be imported, of course, the value of naira will go down. Face the real sector and let’s diversify our forex earner. Let’s go to other sectors of the economy like agric.

“Produce goods and services that will be exported and bring dollars in instead of sending dollars out.”

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