INDUSTRIALIZED ECONOMY, EXPORT PROMOTION KEY TO STRENGTHENING NAIRA – WASIU ESHILOKUN SANNI • Gives kudos to Buhari, CBN for efforts at protecting currency
By Oki Samson, Trek Africa Newspaper
Rt. Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni
• Bags Trek Africa Lawmaker of the Decade Award
The Deputy Speaker, Lagos State House of Assembly (LSHA) and All Progressives Congress (APC) Lagos Central Senatorial Candidate, Rt. Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni affirmed the need for increased production, industrialized economy, and export promotion as factors to shoring up the naira against the dollar. He gave the pointers in his keynote speech at the just-concluded 9th edition of Trek Africa National Discourse and Honours 2022.
The lawmaker’s keynote thoroughly dissected the theme, Naira on Free Fall: The Politics, The Policies, The Way Forward. First correcting the notion of ‘naira on free fall’, Hon. Eshilokun urged Nigerians to use ‘weakness’ instead of ‘fall’, ‘I pray that our country, economy, currency, security, and government shall never fall but shall always be on the rise’.
L-R: Publisher, Trek Africa Newspaper, Oki Samson; Chief Operating Officer, BuyLetLive Company, Modupe Agbolahan; Representative of Rt. Hon Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni/Secretary, Public Account Committee, Lagos State House of Assembly, Prince Adewale Adenle and General Manager, Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, LASCOPA, Mr. Afolabi Solebo during the presentation of Trek Africa Lawmaker of the Decade to Rt. Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni at the 9th edition of Trek Africa National Discourse and Honours TAND2022 held at Elomaz hotel, Maryland, Lagos.
The candidate for the Upper Chambers of the National Assembly come 2023 who won the prestigious award as Trek Africa Lawmaker of the Decade, Sanni continued: ‘Let me itemize the root of the problem of our economy. Our obsession, and sometimes, forceful reliance on foreign currency is key to the weakness of the naira. The weakness of the currency has effect on Nigerians.
The dollar is at its highest since 2000 having appreciated 22% against the yen, 36% against the euro since the start of the year. This has macroeconomic implication for almost all countries giving the dominance of the dollar in international trade and finance. For many countries trying to beat down inflation of their currency relative to the dollar, it has made the fight harder.’
The keynote speech of the LSHA Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni was read by the Secretary, Public Account Committee at the state assembly, Prince Adewale Adenle. He lamented: ‘Our currency situation in the global market has gotten to the stage where we need to rescue the naira from systemic decay. We all lived in this country when transactions by some politicians were made in dollars. Just recently, we heard that some people were sharing dollars as campaign funds. All this have indirectly affected our craving for dollar in the private sector.’
Representative of Rt. Hon Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni/Secretary, Public Account Committee, Lagos State House of Assembly, Prince Adewale Adenle
Commending FG’s tough stance on the currency issues, Sanni added: ‘Since the turn of this new dispensation of the government headed by the progressive President Muhammadu Buhari, there have been several efforts geared at protecting our currency while some are still in motion knowing that it will take time to enjoy their benefits. You will agree with me that Nigeria’s macroeconomic and fiscal policies have improved under the administration of the APC. Successive governments have to realize the need to protect our currency.’
‘The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) listed 14 items which will not enjoy their dollar supply. These policies are geared toward curbing our demand for dollar and reduce pressure on the naira. The CBN introduced and maintained the naira-for-dollar scheme and encouraged the diaspora to remit dollars. Despite our issues, production has increased.’
L-R: Chief Operating Officer, BuyLetLive Company, Modupe Agbolahan; Representative of Rt. Hon Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni/Secretary, Public Account Committee, Lagos State House of Assembly, Prince Adewale Adenle and General Manager, Lagos State Consumer Protection Agency, LASCOPA, Mr. Afolabi Solebo during the presentation of Trek Africa Lawmaker of the Decade to Rt. Hon. Wasiu Eshilokun Sanni at the 9th edition of Trek Africa National Discourse and Honours TAND2022 held at Elomaz hotel, Maryland, Lagos.
Moving forward, the lawmaker emphasized: ‘As a nation, we must solve our security challenges, we need to deepen our productive base, and specifically we must reinvigorate our agricultural sector. In essence, we must industrialize our economy to harness our exports. We should not need the dollar, we need the naira. God bless Nigeria!’
