The Governor of Abia State, Alex Otti, has lamented the free fall of the Naira which began last year, stressing that one of the major causes was that the Federal Government printed too much money in circulation.
The governor made this assertion when he featured in an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Thursday night which was monitored by Africa Today News, New York.
“I believe that the major problem we have is financial discipline. We are dealing with an economy where we printed so much money, at the last count, we will be nearing N30 trillion,” he said.
“So what happens with ways and means is that the quantum of goods that you have available in an economy does not increase with the quantity of money that you print.”
During the interview, the governor, who is a member of the Labour Party (LP), said the nation must move from consumption to production for the economy to recover.
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He condemned the situation whereby Africa’s largest economy imports virtually every product, saying it piles much pressure on the foreign market.
“The issue of production versus consumption, if the economy must recover, we must move to production.
“That does not necessarily mean we will reduce consumption; what it means is that we will be consuming what we produce, to the extent that we are importing virtually everything. You keep piling pressure on the foreign exchange market,” he said.
Meanwhile, a Professor of Economics, Sam Olofin has issued a warning regarding the precarious position of the Nigerian currency (Naira), urging decisive action to safeguard against potential collapse driven by influential entities in the foreign exchange market.
Addressing attendees as the guest speaker at the 2024 public lecture hosted by the Nigerian Economic Society, themed “Recent Developments In The Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market: Issues, Options and the Path Ahead,” held at the CBN Centre of Excellence Lecture Theatre in the capital city of Oyo State, University of Ibadan, Sam Olofin delivered his remarks.