Nigeria’s Naira loss in value against the US Dollar could trigger a review of the Standard Organisation Act 2015, citing the value of N1 million since 2015.
This was disclosed by Malam Farouk Salim, the SON Director-General at the Onne Port, Rivers, on Tuesday.
The SON boss also noted that it would give out stiffer punishment in terms of mandatory jail sentences for individuals and their collaborators who import substandard and life-endangering goods into Nigeria.
He urged the National Assembly should come up with stiffer punishment for illicit importers who smuggle fake and substandard goods into the country, citing that “Smuggling fake and substandard goods into the country is the biggest threat to our national security.
- “The more substandard goods come into the country, the fewer our industries will produce and employ our children – resulting in less tax and revenue for the government.
- “We feel that after seven years, the Standard Organisation Act 2015 needs to be rejigged and improved, considering that N1 million in 2015 is not the same value today.
He added they would also ask for stiffer punishment in terms of mandatory jail sentences for individuals and their collaborators who import substandard and life-endangering goods into Nigeria.
- “We are fighting the importation of substandard goods as a government because we want to save our country and the lives of our people,” he added.
What you should know
Recall Nairametrics reported earlier this year that Since the Governor of the central bank, Godwin Emefiele took office in March 2014 to date, the Naira official rate compared to the US Dollar has depreciated from N164 to N419 (or 61% weaker)
- In the parallel market, the situation is even worse, whereby the Naira has weakened from $1/N180 to $1/605. This is a 70.5% depreciation of the Naira in 8 years.
- This rapid depreciation over a span of 8 years has occurred despite numerous forex policies by the CBN, albeit policies have been skewed towards capital controls and demand-side management.
- The fall in the oil prices which began in late 2014 triggered the first set of devaluation of the naira falling from N165/$1 to about N187/$1.
- Specifically, between 2017 and 2019, the official rate oscillated around the N360/$1 range but it is now as low as N745/$1