Ned Nwoko, the senator from the Delta North senatorial district in the Nigerian Senate, has maintained that as long as Nigeria permits the use of several currencies, no economic program will be successful in the nation.
The politician made this statement on Wednesday’s episode of Politics Today on Channels Television, pointing out that the economy is currently in ruins.
According to the senator, Nigeria is the only nation where several currencies are utilized at the same time, rendering the local currency worthless.
“The current state of our economy is in ruins. It’s in a quagmire of sorts. Nothing will work, regardless of your perspective or the measures you try to implement here and there,” the politician stated.
“As long as we continue to link the currency rate to our consumption, nothing will work. Our currency, the naira, was very strong when we gained our independence.
Then all of a sudden, we started using different currencies, namely the dollar, pounds, and now euros. I am not aware of any nation in the world that uses more than one currency.
“You have to exchange your dollar at the BDC if you are traveling to Britain with it. In the UK, dollars cannot be used to pay for anything. In the UK, everyone receives their salary in pounds. When you visit America, the same thing happens. Dollars are used by all.
Therefore, if we agree to gradually phase out the usage of foreign currency in Nigeria, then using just the naira would be necessary if you wanted to purchase gold, gas, or oil in Nigeria.
Because they know they can’t use any other money, they would search for Naira to conduct business if they were traveling from the UK, for instance.
Since we’ve made it so simple for them to transact with other currencies, no one searches for Naira anymore. Since they can enter with any kind of money, there is essentially no demand for our Naira anywhere in the world. Other than Naira, our money is worthless.
“We must stop using other currencies in order for things to function. After that, people will start searching for the Naira. When they start searching for Naira, our currency will gain value.
The Senate is presently considering Ned Nwoko’s measure to outlaw the usage of foreign currencies in Nigeria.