February 06, (THEWILL) – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday, attributed the current hike in the exchange rate between the dollar and the naira, to increasing demand for dollars by Nigerian students studying abroad and those who embark on medical trips.
“There’s increasing demand for dollars with an increase in Nigerian students studying abroad, projected to have exceeded 100,000 by 2022. Given this data, 28.6bn dollars. Education and medical tourism also lead to increasing demand for dollars.
“Volume on transactions on our market was over 800 million dollars. The cost of living remains a concern. The urgency of the matter is not lost on us. We are working to bring lasting solutions. CBN is working at bringing down Inflation to 21.4 percent aided by improved agricultural productivity.
“To address exchange rate volatility we will improve liquidity. These come with economic costs, which are temporary”, CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, said on Tuesday, at a sectoral debate in Abuja, put together by the House of Representatives.
Also, Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, said the country is where it is at the moment due to a series of economic policies over the years, adding that the cost of living has spiked as a result of inflation.
“We are where we are today as a result of a series of economic policies over the years”, he said, adding that the president has promised to take measures that will address major stumbling blocks to the nation’s economic growth.
Edun also disclosed that inflation, exchange rate fluctuations and other challenges are also being addressed while agriculture is being strengthened for maximum production and non-oil sector economic diversification.
He urged Nigerians to be calm and confident and have faith in the ability of the government to turn around the economy for the citizens to prosper.
Speaking on the state of the economy, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Atiku Bagudu, said strategic plans are under way to resolve current economic challenges.
“We will overcome the challenges of the moment. People will be inconvenienced, but things will get better as the government implements the reforms”, he said.
Also, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Zacch Adedeji, assured that the federal government has no plans to increase taxes but to re-strategise in ways that will yield positive and more results.
“We are not going to increase any tax but to re-strategise to bring more people into the tax net and that has led to restructuring. The focus of Mr President is not to tax but to tax return on investment”, he said.
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