Victor Ezeja
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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has pointed out that government officials’ predilection for foreign luxury products is responsible for the free fall of the national currency, warning that the country’s economy was at risk of “a wave of devastating consequences” if the Naira failed to stabilise against the United States dollar.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, who said this in a statement on Sunday, called for an urgent stabilisation of the Naira, warning that the labour center may be forced to take action if the federal government fails to address the forex crisis.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelPrime Business Africa reports that this latest pressure on the government comes as the Naira depreciates against the US dollar, trading over N1,000/US dollar in the parallel market, although it has been fairly stable at the investor & exporter window going for around N770 to 780/$.
Naira’s loss of value has been attributed to an increasing forex demand that does not equate to supply from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). This decline has further led to manufacturers struggling to get raw materials, with more companies faced with cutting jobs and production.
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Ahead of the organized labour’s meeting with the federal government today to review the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) they signed on subsidy removal palliatives, NLC pointed out that the impact of the weakened currency is being felt by workers and the masses.
In the statement titled, “Urgent action to stabilise the naira amidst alarming depreciation”, Ajaero insisted that public officials must give up their penchant for foreign goods to check the depreciation of the Naira.
