The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has thrown his weight behind a World Bank Report which posits that Nigeria needs to lift the restrictions on importation and foreign exchange.
Obi stated that if he is elected, he will make sure that Nigeria adopts the single forex window as opposed to the multiple forex windows currently in place in the country.
These would entail that importers and exporters alike are set to heave a sigh of relief as restrictions on imports and foreign exchange are expected to be lifted.
Earlier this year a World Bank report disclosed that these restrictions play a major role in food inflation in the country, stating that the strength of the Naira has significantly declined in the parallel market.
This combined with the embargo on the availability of foreign exchange to importers on over forty products and a slash on the funds available to other importers has led to the country experiencing the highest level of inflation in four years.
Obi said, “We will remove import and forex restrictions and insist on a single forex market. The current system penalizes exporters who bring in forex by forcing them to sell at a rate that they are unable to source for forex when they need to purchase forex.
“This multiple exchange rate regime encourages capital flight and deters investment, which has further worsened Nigerian’s forex situation.”