How Nigeria can overcome forex crisis – Ambode

Nigeria needs to look inward and re-strengthen her manufacturing capacity in order to overcome the weakness of the naira against the dollar and other international currencies, Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, has said.

Nigeria, despite being Africa’s largest economy, imports most of her needs, depending heavily on the dollar for these transactions, a development that impacts the economy negatively, with rising costs of goods and services. As the demand for dollar rises, naira has continued to depreciate.

Ambode, speaking at Lagos House, Ikeja, when he received Nicolas Vervelde, managing director/CEO of Nigerian Breweries, Tuesday, said the economic crisis could be overcome by deliberate policy targeted at shoring up local production of goods and services and consumption of same, as against foreign goods.

According to Ambode, “The issues at stake are more about a short-term deficiency that we are experiencing in the economy. We don’t believe that the issue of foreign exchange will last forever, and it is something that is solvable but then, it is a pointer to the fact that there has to be some kind of structural adjustment in this economy and everybody has to start to look inward.

“We need to start to create a structure that allows Nigerians to own businesses and do things that are made in Nigeria so that we can free up as much as possible the forex that we demand all the time and that is why we all are committed to supporting President Mohammadu Buhari. We know ultimately in the medium term, a lot of Nigerians will appreciate what is being done.”

Ambode on his part stated the resolve to create the enabling environment for businesses in Lagos, especially by giving priority to the safety of lives and property and improving the infrastructure.

“We know that if we have a safer Lagos, it creates more opportunities for investment to thrive and it also creates job opportunities for people and within that context, we will be able to get more revenue as taxes and also improve upon infrastructure,” he said.

Vervelde who led senior management team to see the governor, commended what the government has been doing.

“Let me commend the governor for the things business owners and Lagosians are seeing in Lagos. Apapa congestion has been solved; road traffic control has improved and this is visible for everybody; it has enhanced safety and security, and of course, those things are very important in a business environment,” Vervelde said.