President Muhammadu
Buhari is certainly not happy with the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, over what
he called ”the ruthless devaluation of the Naira.”
President Buhari expressed his indignation at the
current rate of the naira to the dollar while speaking at the Ramadan breaking
of fast with members of the business community led by Mr Kola Jamodu, on
Monday.
“How much benefits have we derived from naira
devaluation in the past?
“I don’t like the returns I get from the CBN
because that coupled with the demand that let us devalue the naira. In August
1985, the naira was N1.3k to a dollar, now you need N300 or N350 to a dollar.
“What do we derive from that, how much benefit can
we derive from this ruthless devaluation of the naira?
“I’m not an economist neither a businessman, I fail
to appreciate the economic explanation.
“What has happened to us now is that we have
maneuvered ourselves into a mono-economy which led to the collapse we are
seeing now.
“A lot of responsibilities now fall on your
shoulders. You have a lot of investments, a lot of people you employ,’’ he told
the businessmen.
He also assured them that his administration would make
Nigeria self-sufficient in rice production within 18 months, adding that 13
states of the federation had been identified for the production of the crop.
He said the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu
Ogbeh, had already been briefed on how best to achieve the target.
Buhari decried the way and manner the nation’s
scarce resources were wasted on the importation of food items by the previous
regimes.
He said the nation had no option than to
concentrate more on agriculture and solid mineral activities.
In his remarks on behalf of the business community,
Mr Kola Jamodu, expressed the readiness of the private sector to partner the
administration in addressing the economic challenges facing the country.
He thanked the president for inviting them for the
breaking of fast dinner.
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