According to a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, the President spoke yesterday, while contributing to a Presidential Panel Roundtable on Investment and
Growth Opportunities at the opening of the Africa 2016: Business for Africa, Egypt and the World at Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.
He said, “Developed countries are competing among themselves and when they devalue they compete better and manufacture and export more. But we are not competing and exporting but importing everything including toothpicks.
So, why should we devalue our currency? We want to be more productive and self-sufficient in food and other basic things such as clothing. For our government, we like to encourage local production and efficiency.”
He expressed optimism that Nigeria would get out of its current economic downturn, adding that those who have developed taste for foreign luxury goods should continue to pay for them rather than pressure government to devalue the Naira….. and no, he wasn’t subbing Hermes buyers…..