The Lagos State House of Assembly has urged the federal government and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to implement decisive measures to curb the ongoing devaluation of the naira against the dollar.
As part of its resolution, the House recommended that the federal government should minimize foreign trips for seminars and conferences by ministries and agencies, with states following suit.
Emphasizing the imperative of bolstering security nationwide, the House also called on the CBN to educate Nigerians about efforts being made to alleviate pressure on the naira and the expected contributions of citizens during this period.
The Assembly proposed that depositors of dollars in banks could be engaged in discussions to devise acceptable arrangements whereby such funds could be utilized by the government to alleviate pressure on the naira.
During the session presided over by Speaker Mudashiru Obasa, the House expressed concern about the widening gap between the dollar and the naira.
However, it also commended the CBN for implementing certain measures, expressing hope that these actions would yield favourable outcomes.
He added: “In my opinion, the CBN and government should embark on sensitisation and information dissemination to make people understand what the government is doing. The pressure on the naira is too much, but the CBN should make sure that national interest is supreme.”
The speaker also urged the government to regulate religious pilgrimages as they attract undue interest in dollars and further pressure the naira.
According to him, this action should be sustained until the naira stabilises.
He said: “To save the naira, the Federal Government and states can stop foreign conferences and seminars. If possible, we can bring the resource persons to Nigeria to deliver their lectures. We all need to look inward to support the government.
“Locally, some people in Nigeria doing businesses demand dollars instead of naira. Even at parties now, you see people spray dollars. We need a way out and to do this, we need the support of citizens. That’s the essence of sensitization.”
Femi Saheed (Kosofe 2), who spoke on ‘Matter of Urgent Public Importance’, lamented that the current naira-dollar disparity is the direct consequence of the policies of the Godwin Emefiele-led CBN.
According to him, the naira will gain strength if measures, including fixing the refineries and strengthening the education and health sectors, are taken.
He said: “I think the current CBN governor should work on moral suasion to get people to pull out the dollars in their domiciliary account.”
(The Nation)