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CBN chief stresses need for exchange rate stability

By on October 15, 2016

The Director, Monetary Policy Department of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Moses Tule, has emphasised the need for exchange rate stability.

He stated this in a paper entitled, ‘Economic management and monetary policy: An assessment of the policy environment in uncertain times’, which was presented at the 21st annual conference of the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria in Abuja.

According to a statement by ANAN on Thursday, Tule expressed concern over the volatility of the exchange rate and rising inflation rate.

The CBN chief pointed out that as long as liquidity was rising, too much money would be chasing fewer goods.

According to him, in its quest for price stability, the CBN is looking at the interest rate, exchange rate and the prices of goods and services.

He recalled that in 2014, the entire world was shocked by the drop in oil price from as high as $108 per barrel to as low as $40 per barrel.

Tule said that the shock affected Nigeria’s growth projections and that of many other countries.

“The drop in oil revenue affected government’s expenditure,’’ the CBN chief said.

The economic expert, therefore, blamed the woes on over-dependence on a single commodity (oil).

He also said that activities in the states, like non-payment of workers’ salaries, had affected monetary policy.

Tule observed that expenditure kept on increasing because the nation’s population was growing.

“Until our income grows more than the population, we will keep on having economic problems; if you spend more money on capital projects, you are investing in the future, ’’ he added.

The Head, Investigation Department, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission, Mr. Adedayo Kayode, spoke on the challenge of corruption in the country.

Speaking on the topic ‘Control framework against corruption’, Kayode listed abuse of privileges, low level of transparency and bribery as forms of corruption.

Others are act of misappropriation/diversion of funds, under and over invoicing, false declaration, advance fee fraud, and assets swapping.

He urged accountants to improve on their capacity, increase human resources and funding in order to tackle corruption.

Kayode also talked about critical challenges in fighting corruption such as lack of funding and political will, and subtle rivalry among judicial institutions.
[Punch]