The Senate on Wednesday invited Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), over the depreciation of the naira. The senators lamented that the United States dollar to naira had now risen to N700 which is a disturbing development and calls for immediate attention. On Friday, despite starting the day at N675/$1, the exchange rate between the Naira and the US dollar on Wednesday fell beyond the N710/$ threshold at the black market. The Naira has been under immense pressure in the past two weeks, falling from an average of N618 to a dollar recorded two weeks ago. The motion to invite Emefiele was brought forward by Olubunmi Adetunmbi, senator representing Ekiti north.
Some senators while debating on the matter affirmed that the CBN is not doing enough to protect the Naira.
Biodun Olujimi, senator representing Ekiti south, said the CBN is not taking responsibility that it has failed to defend the naira.
“Someone should be able to say I have failed, and that is the CBN,” Olujimi said.
“Most of what is happening is because people are taking out the dollar and selling and bringing them back in — we should be penalizing somebody for what has happened to the naira-dollar rate.”
“The time has come for us to look holistically into what is happening. What is happening to the dollar is a replica of what is happening to Nigeria.”
Contributing to the debate, Sani Musa, senator representing Niger east, said the naira would appreciate only if the country consumes what it produces.
The motion was thereafter adopted after Senate President Ahmad Lawan put it to a voice vote.
