One of Nigeria’s presidential aspirant, Kingsley Moghalu has lamented the multiple exchange rates Nigeria operates. In an explosive interview with Bloomberg, Moghalu said the multiple exchange rates has created chances for lack of transparency which he said has been one of his major concerns.
In the course of the interview, the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) recommended a single rate for Nigeria’s economy to thrive.
Moghalu said
“I think it will be better to have a single rate to price discovery in the market place. That’s what I have always advocated for. But the problem is that the Central Bank at this point, has not been acting completely independently, and there is a political concern of the Buhari regime to keep the price of the dollar fixed so that the country can continue to import at a very subsidised rates.”
The presidential aspirant added that the government should make Naira find its value in its true value. And in finding its true value, according to Moghalu, Nigeria can develop an export competitive economy that can make its economic transformation much more realistic.
Moghalu further expressed that Nigeria’s economic problems are largely self-inflicted, adding that it is almost impossible to take the said fact out of the general space.
The political economist said Nigeria’s problems are largely politically induced which he credited to incompetent and vision-less political leaders.
“That’s the real problem Nigeria is having, it is not a lack of sound economic thinking, but when you operate under the authority of politicians who have different agendas.” Moghalu added.
Revealing why he’s contesting, Moghalu said he has chosen to go into the political arena instead of serving as a technocrat because he believes he can’t achieve what he can when he finds himself under politicians who really would not share his vision.
When asked about his view as regards the MTN saga with CBN, Moghalu said there must have been a reason MTN is sanctioned by the regulatory body.
Moghalu said that most companies do not have the right strategy to manage their regulatory risks, which he said it is what all the multinationals should pay attention to.
“Now, it is not of any good when you don’t manage your regulatory risks and when the CBN or regulator hit you, you begin to complain about the larger economic consequences of your possible economic collapse. So it becomes a problem because the CBN of course does not want companies like that to fold up but at the same time, you don’t want them to have the free hand to do whatever they like.
“These companies must manage their regulatory risks. and i hope that’s the lesson that comes out of this experiences.” – Moghalu
