Civil-Society

A civil society group, Social Integrity Network (SINET), has advised the Federal Government not to succumb to pressure to devalue the national currency in response to the current oil price crash in the global market over the ravaging coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

SINET said the global oil price crash was a temporary scenario orchestrated by the outbreak spreading globally which would soon be over.

The National Coordinator of SINET, Mallam Ibrahim Isaah, in a statement, asked President Muhammadu Buhari to prevail on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to adopt a diplomatic and sustainable economic policy that would support the nation during the present oil price crash.

Mallam Isaah stated that: “There is widespread prediction that the falling reserves may force the CBN’s hands to depreciate the naira. It is pertinent to put on record that many factories have shut down operations while travel ban imposition has affected airline operations thereby reducing crude oil demand for industrial and operational purposes globally.”

He said the Chinese government had directed all local manufacturers to resume operations with a view to meeting with global demands, and that the Federal Government had made remarkable impact by taking bold steps towards ensuring the crash of Treasury Bill rate which allowed the government to reserve the huge sum of fund being used to settle Treasury Bill investors.

He further clarified that: “The strict border closure policy implementation has also assisted the nation from losing foreign reserves to the smuggling of crude oil.

SINET, therefore, has predicted that, “Although there is speculation that some people are on the verge of hiding dollar in anticipation of naira devaluation; but our stance is for the Federal Government to remain resolute and committed to the reality that the oil price will soon appreciate with very high volume demand.”