Yakubu Dogara, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, has suggested that unlocking the “idle” foreign exchange held in private vaults could help stabilize the weakening naira.
Speaking at an event organized by Covenant Nation to commemorate Democracy Day, Dogara highlighted the decline in the value of the naira due to Nigerians’ preference for the US dollar. He emphasized the need to reduce the country’s reliance on the US dollar and restore faith in the naira as a store of value.
Dogara proposed unlocking the dollars held in private vaults to boost the economy and lower the foreign exchange rate. Additionally, he recommended that the government sell crude oil in naira instead of dollars, aligning with the practice of paying for imports in foreign currency.
He suggested that security agencies should conduct thorough investigations to uncover politicians and influential individuals who are hoarding large amounts of dollars in private vaults.
Dogara stated, “The government, with the help of reliable intelligence gathered by security agencies, should be aware of those individuals in Nigeria who have taken advantage of the system and are keeping idle USD in their private vaults.”
“If they refuse to cooperate, I firmly believe that the President should consider implementing the MBS solution, referring to the approach taken by Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud in Saudi Arabia.”
“No one who has exploited the system should be allowed to hoard excessive amounts of wealth that could be used to uplift millions of people out of poverty.”
‘No Justification for CFA’s Strength Against the Naira’
“I am of the opinion that the current value of the naira is significantly undervalued. The most productive nations are not necessarily the ones with the strongest currencies, as demonstrated by China.”
“Let’s take a look at the West African CFA countries. What are they producing and exporting compared to Nigeria? Why does the CFA seem to be immune to the volatility that the naira experiences?”
“What economic theories can we find to justify the strength of the CFA against the naira? What was Nigeria producing during the times of General Abacha, OBJ, or Jonathan when the naira was relatively stronger that we are not producing now?” Dogara questioned.
“If we do not take immediate action to halt the continuous decline of the naira, I fear that we may reach a point where we have to abandon the currency altogether… May God forbid such a scenario.”
