Oshiomole tasks FG to intervene in stabilising naira

Senator Adams Oshiomhole has said that the government must intervene to stabilise the country’s currency, the naira, arguing that market forces cannot do such.

Nigeria’s currency exchanges for close to N1,000 for a dollar in the parallel market and a pound going for around N1,200.

Oshiomhole, who spoke on the Senate floor during the screening of the CBN governor nominee Yemi Cardoso and four other deputies, called on the government to intervene to save the country’s currency.

Oshiomhole, stated thus:

“The challenge we deal with now is everybody seems to have submitted completely to the so-called market forces and rely on the invisible eyes of Adams Smith to regulate and determine the value of the naira”.

“It is now clear, after Babangida started the devaluation, that the market forces can never stabilise the naira. The state must intervene.”

“Interest rate cannot be at 20 or 25 per cent and you are expecting the manufacturing sector with investments that require long-term gestation period to grow,”

“Even if you are a drug dealer. You would find that those dealing with drugs in Latin America would be more competitive.”

“So, I think there is a need for a complete thinking outside the box. When the West celebrates our free market, no control, and so on, I am always suspicious”

“We need to interrogate our assumptions. We don’t need to copycat Washington and all these international finance capitals. It is their interest [that they are after]. There is no such thing as a common interest”