Market News
Scrap parallel market, sell forex in banks, Onuesoke advises - VANGUARD
By Ephraim Oseji
Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain, and former Delta State gubernatorial aspirant, Chief Sunny Onuesoke has advised that Parallel market should be scrapped, while forex should be sold in banks and at a single rate like everywhere in the world, to stop the downward trending of the Naira.
According to him, “Pressure on dollar rate is also as a result of kickback for government contracts being paid in dollar cash. Banks, NFIU, EFCC, and others assigned to monitor big-ticket cash flows/transactions are not doing their jobs. Lots of things are wrong. Also, some local transactions such as school fees, rents, hotel bills, and others are now being paid for in dollars when we are in Nigeria spending Naira.”
On the threat to shut Aboki Fx online publication over the daily depreciation of the Naira to foreign currencies, he disclosed that the apex bank’s problem was that it chooses to treat the symptoms rather than the sickness in resolving the daily depreciation of the Naira at the Forex market.
He said: “The level of crass ignorance being displayed by Nigerian officials is damn alarming. Is Aboki FX selling forex or just collating information across the streets of Nigeria to inform the public of the situation of things? Is Aboki FX the one collecting dollars from CBN and selling through the commercial banks to roadside mallams, who in turn sell to the public at exorbitant rates?
“When a commodity is scarce, prices go higher and people will naturally value the item more. The CBN should focus on ways to make the dollars available to all on the street or provide alternative currency routes for Nigerians to trade or produce foreign desired goods at home.”
He noted that the fall of the Naira was because many of the illegal transactions in Nigeria were being carried out in dollars.
