Forcing naira to appreciate won’t work, Peterside tells FG

Forcing naira to appreciate won’t work, Peterside tells FG

Founder of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, has advised the Federal Government not to force the naira to appreciate against the dollar and other currencies in a hurry.

He stated this on a Channels Television programme: “Politics Today,” on Thursday.

Peterside said, “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 for that? 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, 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.”

Peterside said the next step for the government is to start doing things to build confidence in investors and stop reckless spending.

He said the habit of doing five things right and doing two things wrong would not help the government achieve anything tangible.

He said Tinubu’s monetary policy is on the right direction, but the government should tackle huge fiscal indiscipline.