FG urged to ensure genuine liberalization of forex market

The Federal Government has been urged to  allow genuine  liberalization  of  the  foreign  exchange  market  with  the  intention  of  achieving  a  single  exchange rate.

This is one of the issues the GTBank’s 2017 Economic Outlook emphasised should be addressed  to  return  the  country  on  the  path  of  economic  recovery  and prosperity this year.

The review said “despite the beating the Nigerian economy has taken in the last 24 months, one thing is still clear; the fundamentals of the economy, which includes the market size, population, enterprise competency of Nigerians, demographic, natural resources  etc.,  are  still  very  strong.

“In  our  opinion,  the  harmonization  and  implementation  of  the  right  policies  (both  fiscal  and  monetary),  that  will  optimize  these fundamentals  into  stimulating  economic  activities  and  maximizing productivity, appear to be the missing link”, it said.

It also stressed that emphasis should be placed on these:

• Credibility of  the  foreign  exchange  policy  is  key  to  attracting  investors.  Hence, policies must be transparent, unambiguous and fully implemented.
• The federal  government  must  put  its  best  foot  forward  in  finding  a  lasting  solution  to  the militancy concerns in the Niger Delta.
• The true  deregulation  of  the  downstream  oil  and  gas  sector  will  only  be  achieved  when  the  Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) has been passed into law. Significant investment in local refining can only come to fruition after the signing of the PIB into law.
• The government,  as  a  matter  of  urgency,  needs  to   prepare   an   economic   blueprint   detailing   milestones   and   roadmaps   with   unambiguous   key  performance  indicators  (KPI)  regarding  the  attainment of economic prosperity.
• Policy credibility will  attract  desired  investment  and in turn bring about sustainable and inclusive economic growth. It concluded.