Economic Crunch: Atiku, Obi, others demand naira’s stability at NBA conference

Presidential candidates, Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi and others called for the stability of the naira in order to arrest the nation’s economic crunch.

The candidates aired their views while speaking at the annual conference of the Nigerian Bar Association which was held in Lagos on Monday.

Mr Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, said for the country’s legal tender to stabilise, the economy must “move from consumption to production.”

He said that Nigeria must be able to manufacture and export in order to earn dollars to stabilise the naira.

Mr Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, expounded two ways the country can stabilise the naira.

He explained that the multiple exchange rate must be abolished.

He added that a “convergent official and unofficial rate” must be allowed.

In his own submission, Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party said that one of the ways of making the naira stable is to refrain from having “a dual system where one person who has a friend in the Central bank can make $30 million dollars by buying at the official rate and selling to the hard-working people” at an increased rate. 

He added that “importers and supermarket owners should not be making more money than manufacturers and farmers.”

Meanwhile, Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the All Progressive Congress, who was represented by his running mate, Kashim Shettima said that an “important tool of growing the economy” is the diversification of sources of income.

“Ours is a great nation in chains. Chained by ineptitude, chained by corruption and chained by incapacity,” Mr Shettima said.

“This is why it is absolutely important to grow the economy.”