Kingsley Moghalu, a former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria , has advised the federal government to stabilise the naira at its true market value.Commenting on the development, Moghalu said the n“Seeking a falsely ‘strong’ currency when the fundamentals are out of whack is shadow chasing. The focus should be on the stability of the exchange rate, not a populist exchange rate and premature declarations of ‘best performing currency’,” he said.“It’s not yet uhuru.
He advised that the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited be privatised and suggested “$20-$30 billion” be raised from an initial public offering . “Or go for a “whale” of a $20-30 billion stabilization bailout from the International Monetary Fund , with forensic oversight of the money and how it is spent,” he said.
“All these ‘trickle down’ borrowing of $1 billion here, $2 billion there won’t hack it. We need to get serious. Managing an economy is not politics or a clap-and dance performance theatre. It’s serious business.”Moghalu also said confidence in Nigeria’s economic reforms, in terms of serious portfolio inflows, remains tentative, adding that reversals would not help.