Lexy Blog

Reactions have continued to trail last week's devaluation of the nation’s currency-Naira-particularly its impact on an import dependent economy, with Nigerians watching with keen interest as to how this will bring respite to the currency, writes ALEXANDER CHIEJINA Shortly after the International Monetary Fund (IMF) visited Nigeria and spoke with the government, private sector, banks including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in March this year, the Fund revealed that the nation’s currency- the Naira was overvalued. The view by the IMF came on the heels of a report it released berating the Apex Bank for running down the external reserves to prop up the Naira rather than allowing it to depreciate in tandem with existing realities on the ground. The Fund stated that the CBN was not in a position to fund the foreign exchange market the way it is doing- dipping into already dwindling reserves -and that a managed depreciation of the Naira is much more preferable to an unavoidable fre

Following Federal Government’s withdrawal of fuel subsidy last week, this move attracted massive protests across various parts of the country and heated debates giving the socio-economic implications on Nigerians. However, full deregulation of the petroleum sector is believed to ensure sustainable petroleum pricing, writes ALEXANDER CHIEJINA In Nigeria today, the most contentious issue is the removal of subsidy on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise known as ‘Petrol.’ The withdrawal of fuel subsidy by the Federal Government generated heated debates by Nigerians from all walks of life, including the civil society groups and the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), owing to its implications on the nation’s socio-economic landscape. Over the years, the Federal Government operated fuel subsidy with the aim of making petroleum products available to cushion the effect of actual market prices of the products on the general populace. According to reports by the Petroleum Pricing Regulatory