Tope Oshin
Managing Director/Chief Executive, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, and Managing Director/Chief Executive Oando Plc, Mr. Adewale Tinubu, emphasized the need for reforms in the foreign exchange market and in the financing of the oil industry while highlighting the need for policy articulation on economic diversification with the current low oil price environment , Vanguard reports.
Wigwe noted that there was need to adjust the current foreign exchange policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to encourage inflow of foreign exchange into the country. He said currently, many businesses found it difficult to source foreign exchange, adding that this could lead to severe impact on the economy. Wigwe, however, dismissed fears that the decline in crude oil price might lead to a banking crisis in Nigeria by insinuating that the Nigerian banking industry is healthy.
Tinubu, on his part, called for a second tier foreign exchange market for transactions like payment of school fees and medical bills. He said the current situation where businesses could not source dollars from the CBN at the current official price was discouraging to business and had created a wait and see attitude among investors. He also called on the Federal Government to replace the joint venture method with the production sharing method to stimulate inflow of private investment into the oil sector.
__________
Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng
Copyright 2015 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.
