Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo disclose how Federal Govt plan to strengthen Nigeria’s currency

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has disclosed that the federal government will increase the country’s foreign exchange earnings and raise the value of the Nigeria’s currency through a sustained diversification plan that would involve steadily moving away from the current mono-product economy.

A statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said Osinbajo spoke while answering questions from journalists in Enugu, during a visit over the weekend.

The vice-president said raising the value of the naira would take a multi-pronged approach, including ensuring that there was an increase in earnings, exporting more and driving infrastructural development through local and foreign direct investments.

According to him, this forms a critical part of the current federal government’s diversification agenda of the economy, adding that the government had already embarked upon a plan for self-sufficiency in rice and wheat production to reduce pressure on foreign exchange.

He said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration’s economic policies would produce a stronger Naira.

The vice-president said by earning more and exporting more, the value of the Naira would improve: “We are trying to ensure that we are self-sufficient in rice production and wheat production, so that there will be less pressure on the dollar.”

He said the federal government was exploring how to expand and enlarge rice production through an effective partnership with several rice-producing states from the North.

Credit: ThisDay