The Nigerian government is planning to raise $10bn to improve liquidity in the foreign exchange (forex) market.
On Tuesday, the naira fell to an all-time low of 1,850 per dollar at the parallel market.
President Bola Tinubu, who was represented by Kashim Shettima, the vice president, disclosed this at the inaugural Public Wealth Management Conference in Abuja.
The Ministry of Finance Incorporated organized the event with the theme “Championing Nigeria’s Economic Prosperity”.
In a statement Stanley Nkwocha, the senior special assistant to the President on Media & Communications, explained, “The Federal Government set a goal to raise at least $10bn in order to increase foreign exchange liquidity, a key ingredient to stabilize the Naira and grow the economy.
“At the core of this is ensuring optimal management of the assets and investments of the Federal Government towards unlocking their revenue potential. This includes our bold and achievable plan to double the GDP growth rate and significantly increase the GDP base over the next 8 years.”
The President further emphasized transparency and accountability as key principles, believing that improved corporate governance, innovative partnerships, and attracting alternative investment capital would significantly increase returns.
He noted that these improved returns will then be directed towards “crucial funding for education, healthcare, housing, power, roads, and other areas vital to lifting millions out of poverty and stimulating sustainable economic development and job creation for the youth”.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s federal government has declared war on currency speculation in its effort to stem the crisis in the foreign exchange (FX) market.
The government issued a directive to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to join forces to address the challenges posed to the national economy by the speculative FX activities.
Earlier, on Tuesday in a renewed bid to safeguard Nigeria’s Forex market and combat speculative activities, the government deployed the Nigeria Police, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), and Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) to fight the menace.
The fresh measures came as the naira sustained its free fall at the parallel segment of the Forex market, dropping to a record N1,830 to a dollar, a slide by N335 in just one week, compared to the N1,495 to a dollar it closed on February 13.
