According to Mr. Okechukwu Unegbu, a financial expert, the Naira will stabilize and strengthen as a result of greater local product consumption, enhanced local commodity output, and less imports of goods and services.Unegbu, a former president of the Chattered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), made this statement on Sunday in Abuja while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
According to NAN, the Naira has been depreciating endlessly lately, reaching a peak of N1,300 to the dollar on the parallel market just last week.
Unegbu claims that it will also be beneficial if the Nigerian government is able to set export prices for goods in Naira.
"We are not manufacturing anything; the only thing that can stabilize the Naira is if we generate goods that can be sold elsewhere.
"We should also use Naira to price our exports." Even our very high-quality crude oil ought to be valued in Naira.
"They say it will be challenging, but have we actually tried it? We can make changes if we try it and it doesn't work," he said.
Unegbu stated that Nigeria would be able to decide the value of the Naira because constables would be produced and manufactured locally.
According to him, the Naira's historical stability was attributed to the government's use of both internal and foreign borrowing to sustain the currency.
He continued by saying that the Naira would be under more pressure given the recent relaxation of the government of Muhammadu Buhari's ban on foreign exchange supply to importers of 43 items.
"People will begin searching for foreign exchange to import those goods. The Naira will be further pressured by this. Avoiding imported items is necessary, as is actively trying to strengthen the Naira.
Nigerians are fond of imported items. The Naira will strengthen if we all decide to stop importing goods and just buy what we can make.
"The government used to support the Naira by borrowing money. That time is past. In order to boost output and lower the cost of government, we must now turn inward," he stated.
Lai Omotola, the CEO of the Confederated Facilitators Limited group of enterprises, stated that market forces were not the reason behind the sharp increase in the value of the dollar relative to the Naira.
Omotola claims that affluent elite businessmen—whom he referred to as "market cabals"—have an impact on the rate.
"I have never encountered wealthy businesspeople whose primary activity is currency speculation. They solely engage in that line of work.
Without a doubt, they may have a manufacturing facility. For example, the manufacturing company must purchase dollars because it requires ten million dollars.
However, no one is looking into whether they really need $10 million or less.
Therefore, they probably only required $1 million, but they will end up with $10 million.
"They'll go and sell it to the black marketers after sending the one million dollars to their supplier and converting the remaining nine million dollars to Naira," he stated.
"When there is an exchange rate difference of more than N300 and you sell nine million dollars, you are making N270 million without hiring staff or making any investments—you are just taking money in and out," he said.
"They're all tied into that business because it's sweeter than cocaine, which is why the Naira is currently going around N1,200 to the dollar.
"The disparity between the Naira in the official market and the parallel market was supposed to not exceed N2 when the current government was floating the Naira. That's what floating means.
"However, the government has failed to remember that when the Naira is floating, demand and supply dictate its value and that there are no dollars in the Central Bank of Nigeria to support it."