Expert Warns FG Against Naira Devaluation

A management expert,Biodun Adedipe, has warned the Federal Government against devaluing the naira to prevent widening the gap in resource distribution in the country.

Adedipe, who is a chief consultant at B. Adedipe Associates Ltd., gave the advice at a Breakfast Meeting organised by the Nigerian-South Africa Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, January 28, in Lagos.

He spoke on: “The Nigerian Business Environment: Navigating the Rocky Road Ahead”.

He said the call for devaluation is misplaced with focus on the U.S dollar as a tradable commodity rather than as a means of exchange.

He said that the underlying problem lied with the goods and services being exchanged for the currency.

According to him, devaluation of the naira will increase the cost of doing business and living in the country.

Adedipe said that this was because the economy was still largely dependent on imported goods and equipment for its manufacturing sector.

He said that the ripple effects of the devaluation would be transmitted to the consumers who would bear the cost of price differentials.

He urged the government to stimulate economic growth through investment in infrastructures, alignment of fiscal and monetary policies as well as accountability.