President Muhammadu Buhari has again ruled out the devaluation of naira, explaining that the priority of his administration is to ensure national food self-sufficiency and food security which require import of agricultural inputs such as machinery, fertiliser and herbicides, among others and devaluation would make such significant imports also unaffordable to farmers.
Consequently, Buhari argued, those who have developed the taste for foreign luxury goods should continue to pay for them rather than continue to exert pressure on government to devalue the naira.
The calls for devaluation of the Naira have become louder as the official exchange rate for the naira hovered between N197-N199, while the black market rate was at N400.
Reiterating his opposition on the devaluation of the naira, Buhari said Nigeria cannot compete like the developed countries which produce to compete among themselves, and therefore can afford to devalue their currencies.
Contributing to a presidential panel roundtable discussion on investment and growth opportunities at the opening session of the Africa 2016 Business Forum in Egypt on Saturday, President Buhari said the priority of his administration was to ensure national food security before export of food products.
“The land is there and we need machinery inputs, fertilizer and insecticides,” he said. “Developed countries are competing among themselves. When they devalue, they compete better and manufacture and export more. But we are not competing and exporting, but importing everything including toothpicks. So, why should we devalue our currency?
“We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other basic things such as clothing. For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency.”
The President added that those who have developed taste for foreign luxury goods should continue to pay for them rather than pressure government to devalue the naira.
The President expressed optimism that Nigeria would get out of its current economic downturn soon, saying another major problem militating against economic revival is the huge resources deployed towards fighting insurgency and international terrorism.
He commended the support being received from the international community in the administration’s fight against terrorism as well as cooperation in tracing looted funds stashed away in foreign countries.
Responding to a question on his performance since he assumed office, the President said his administration had been “quite focused” on its three fundamental issues of securing the country, reviving the economy and stamping out corruption.
“The message on corruption has been driven home vividly and Nigerians are very acceptable to the message,” he said, adding that those accused of stealing public funds are cooperating by voluntarily providing useful information while investigations and prosecutions are ongoing.
In his opening address at the Forum, the Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, said Africa needs to concentrate on transforming into knowledge societies using innovation and research.
The Presidents of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia also participated in the Roundtable.
In his opening message, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), urged African leaders to start to think big, act big and develop big.
Mr Femi Adesina, Presidential Adviser on Media and Publicity, in a statement on Sunday, provided more insight into the proceedings at the conference:
OUR PRIORITY IS NATIONAL FOOD SECURITY – PRESIDENT BUHARI
President Muhammadu Buhari said on Saturday that the priority of his administration is to ensure national food security before export of food products.
The President said this while contributing to a Presidential Panel Roundtable on Investment and Growth Opportunities at the opening session of the Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
President Buhari stressed that Nigeria being a mono-economy dependent on oil, and with a teeming unemployed youth population, the way out of the current slump in the global oil market is for the administration to focus on agriculture and solid minerals development. “The land is there and we need machinery inputs, fertilizer and insecticides,” he said.
Reiterating his opposition to the devaluation of the naira, President Buhari said Nigeria cannot compete with developed countries which produce to compete among themselves and can afford to devalue their local currencies.
“Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they devalue they compete better and manufacture and export more. But we are not competing and exporting but importing everything including toothpicks. So, why should we devalue our currency?” the President asked.
According to him, “We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other basic things such as clothing. For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency.” He added that those who have developed taste for foreign luxury goods should continue to pay for them rather than pressure government to devalue the naira.
President Buhari, who expressed optimism that Nigeria would get out of its current economic downturn, noted that another major problem militating against economic revival is the huge resources deployed towards fighting insurgency and international terrorism. He, however, commended the support being received from the international community in the administration’s fight against terrorism as well as cooperation in tracing looted funds stashed away in foreign countries.
Responding to a question on his performance since he assumed office, the President said that his administration has been quite focused on three fundamental issues of securing the country, reviving the economy and stamping out corruption.
“The message on corruption has been driven home vividly and Nigerians are very receptive to the message,” he said, adding that those accused of stealing public funds are cooperating by voluntarily providing useful information while investigations and prosecutions are ongoing.
In his opening address at the Forum, the Egyptian President, Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, said Africa needs to concentrate on transforming into knowledge societies using innovation and research. The Presidents of Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia also participated at the Roundtable.
In his opening message, the President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr Akinwumi Adesina, said that “Africa must think big, act big and develop big.”
Before departing Egypt, President Buhari and his Egyptian host, had bilateral discussions on security, military cooperation, agriculture and solid minerals development.
FEMI ADESINA
Special Adviser to the President (Media & Publicity)
February 20, 2016.