Atedo Peterside, founder of Stanbic IBTC and ANAP Foundation, has called on the administration of President Bola Tinubu to adopt a cautious approach in handling the depreciation of the naira against the dollar, as reported by Vanguard.
In an interview on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Peterside emphasized the importance of stabilizing the local currency rather than rushing to make it gain strength.
Peterside acknowledged that the current administration inherited the exchange rate issue and has been working to manage it. He warned against the pitfalls of attempting to rapidly appreciate the naira, suggesting that such efforts would likely be counterproductive.
"I will be fair to this government. They inherited the exchange rate problem and what they have been doing is trying to manage it. Recently, I would have thought ‘let’s get some stability around N1,300 or N1,400’. Don’t be in a hurry to appreciate the exchange rate," Peterside stated.
He criticized the strategy of selling dollars to bureau de change operators at lower rates, only for them to resell at significantly higher prices.
"Going to sell dollars to bureau de change at N1,000, N1,050; those guys will turn around two weeks later and sell it at N1,400, N1,500. And they will go away laughing. What’s the point of that?" he questioned.
Peterside advocated for maintaining a stable exchange rate within the range of N1,300 to N1,400, which he described as the natural equilibrium band.
He suggested that this stability would allow the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to gradually build its reserves and restore confidence in the economy.
"It’s better to have some stability they can sustain. Keep between N1,300 and N1,400 which looks to be the natural equilibrium band today. Keep it there for a while, and build up your reserve to let confidence come back. So stop trying to appreciate the naira in a hurry. It’s not going to work," he concluded.