Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North, has argued that Nigeria’s economic reforms will fail as long as multiple currencies are allowed in circulation, weakening the naira’s value.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Nwoko pointed out that the economy is in disarray, with the extensive use of foreign currencies undermining the naira.
He stated that Nigeria is unique in permitting foreign currencies—like the dollar, pound, and euro—to circulate alongside the local currency, which, in turn, makes the naira nearly worthless in global demand.
“Our economy as it is, is in tatters. It is in some kind of quagmire. It doesn’t matter how you look at it or policies you’re trying to introduce here and there, nothing will work,” the lawmaker said.
Drawing comparisons, Nwoko pointed out that other countries strictly maintain single-currency use, citing examples from the UK and the US, where foreign currencies must be exchanged at bureaux de change, and salaries are paid solely in local currency.
In contrast, Nigeria’s tolerance for foreign currency use hinders any substantial demand for the naira.
For Nigeria’s economy to stabilize, Nwoko proposed that foreign transactions within the country should require naira, forcing foreign buyers to seek out the local currency.
“Nothing will work as long as we keep tying the exchange rate to our consumption. When we became an independent nation we had naira and our currency was quite strong.
“Then suddenly, we began to have other currencies, dollar, particularly, and pounds and now Euro. There’s no country that I know in the world that has the use of multiple currencies.
“If you go to Britain with the dollar, you must change it at the BDC. You cannot pay for anything with the dollars in the UK. Everybody is paid their salaries in pounds in the UK. The same thing when you go to America. Everybody uses dollars.
“So, for things to work, assuming that we agree to phase out the use of foreign currency in Nigeria, what it means is that if you want to buy oil, gas or gold in Nigeria, it would require you to use only the naira.
“So, if they’re coming from the UK for example, they’d look for Naira so that they can transact because they know they can’t use any other currency.
“Currently, nobody looks for Naira because we’ve made it so easy for them to transact with other currencies. They can come here with any currency and that means effectively, there is no global demand for our Naira. Our money has no value beyond Naira.
“For things to work, we must prevent the use of foreign currencies and then people will start to look for the Naira. When they begin to look for Naira, our currency will appreciate,” he stated.
Nwoko has introduced a bill in the Senate advocating for a ban on foreign currency use within Nigeria to help restore the naira’s value and bolster the economy.