Naira Devaluation Is Needless – Zinox Boss

BEVERLY HILLS, March 15, (THEWILL) – Leo Stan Ekeh, Chairman, Zinox Group, has described calls on the Federal Government to devalue the naira as a result of plummeting naira in the parallel market as a needless venture.

Speaking at a reception organised in honour of his 60th birthday by a select group of ICT media entrepreneurs in Lagos, Ekeh said it was too late to devalue the naira, as the move would only serve to further impoverish the masses and plunge the country into a state of hyperinflation.

“The prevailing circumstances in the nation's fiscal and monetary framework aligned to developments in the global oil market make devaluation of the local currency a needless venture at this material time,” Ekeh said.

“If devaluation happened mid-last year it would have made sense and encouraged inflows from investors, but devaluing now would compound our already difficult situation and investors will only wait in anticipation of a further devaluation. It will rubbish our currency forever and strengthen the purchasing power of our trading partners.”

Ekeh explained that since the turn of the year, the country had reasons to contend with reduced government earnings from the sale of crude oil, adding that the current administration was hit by the dwindling prices of the commodity in the global market.

He disclosed that the situation prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to impose strict forex rules to save its reserves, while battling the pressure from various quarters to devalue the naira.

Rather than consider devaluing the naira, Ekeh counselled the government to explore other options that would shore up the value of the naira and make the country less dependent on imports, as it used to be in the past.

Story by David Oputah