By Adedapo Adesanya
The Special Adviser to the President on Monetary Policies, Mr Wale Edun, has said the Naira should begin to trade stronger against the Dollar as the reforms from his principal, President Bola Tinubu, has begun to attract investment.
The banker, who is being considered for a ministerial appointment, made this disclosure when he appeared before the Senate on Tuesday, in continuation of the activity which started on Monday.
“The fundamental value of the Naira should be somewhere around N700/$1, not the N800/$1 being quoted… So, a note of caution to the speculators; there is a chance they will lose,” he said in response to the lawmakers at the session monitored by Business Post.
Mr Edun, who, by his background and questions from the Senators, could be Nigeria’s next finance minister, said the current levels are due to unmet Dollar demand, adding that corruption in the country’s exchange-rate system led to the wide disparity, which he said President Tinubu was now addressing.
“As liquidity flows in, the rate will come down,” he said.
He also said he would replicate the Lagos experience of improved internally generated revenue (IGR) at the national level.
Mr Edun, an Ogun State native, also revealed that the proposed palliatives on fuel subsidy removal would be sent to the most vulnerable Nigerians with the assistance of telecommunication network providers that promised to assist the government with digital biometric validation of the beneficiaries.
The ministerial nominees screened on Tuesday included ex-governors Mr Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna) and Mr Dave Umahi (Ebonyi). The Senate also screened Mrs Stella Okotete, Mr Adebayo Adelabu, Mr Muhammad Idris, Mrs Doris Uzoka, Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, and Mrs Hannatu Musawa.
Recall that the Senate on Monday screened former governor of Rivers State, Mr Nyesom Wike; Mr Abubakar Kyari from Borno State; Mr Nkiruka Onyejeocha (Abia State); Mr Bello Muhammad (Sokoto State); Mr Sani Abubakar Danladi (Taraba State); and Mr Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa State).
Others were Mr Joseph Utsev (Benue State), Mr Olubunmi Tunji Ojo (Ondo State), Mrs Betta Edu (Cross River State), Mrs Uju Kennedy Ohaneye (Anambra State), Mr Abubakar Momoh (Edo State), Mr John Enoh (Cross River State), Mr Iman Suleiman Ibrahim (Nasarawa State), and Mr Yusuf Maitama Tuggar (Bauchi State).
Aduragbemi Omiyale