He also insisted that structural reform of the Bureau De Change (BDC) is urgently required, stressing that the country cannot manage 5,691 BDCs.
Fasua, alongside Managing Director, Nigerian Exchange Group, Oscar Onyema; the Nigeria Governors’ Forum; and heads of oil agencies, who gathered at the National Policy Advocacy Centre of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said urgent measures are needed to address unification of the naira and removal of fuel subsidy.
He explained that while the country currently has one official exchange rate, unlike in the past when there were multiple rates, the unification would not close the gap at the unofficial market.
He also insisted that the country can only get right results if right decisions are made, stressing that no nation owes Nigeria foreign exchange.
“We need to do some structural reform. I believe that we should reform the BDC sector and make it stronger. We can’t manage 5,691 BDCs with everybody selling money on the street. We can do structural reform in the BDC sector and the bank,” Fasua said.
Onyema said the naira unification policy, if pursued aggressively to efficiently unify foreign exchange rates, would bolster investor confidence in Nigeria’s financial markets and attract foreign portfolio investors. “This indicates a more transparent and economic environment which can increase investor interest in Nigerian business,” he said.
Represented by Cordelia Ihedioha, a regional manager at the Nigeria Exchange Group Plc, Onyema said foreign investors are keen on seeing sustained liquidity in the major forex market and influential clearing of backlogs of queues of capital held up in Nigeria due to the FX crisis.
He, however, noted that the transition could disrupt businesses and the economy in several ways, adding that businesses that heavily rely on imports may face short-term disruptions due to sudden shifts in exchange rates.
