Lagos Assembly tasks President on naira value

The Lagos State House of Assembly on Monday urged the President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration to redouble efforts at strengthening the value of the naira.

This followed a motion jointly sponsored by 11 lawmakers and moved by Mr Rotimi Olowo, the Chairman, House Committee on Budget and Economic Planning.

It was seconded by the Chief Whip, Mr Rotimi Abiru.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the motion was titled 'Need to control the continuous decline in the value of naira'.

The House called on the Federal Government to put necessary infrastructure in place to create enabling environment for increased local productivity, to strengthen the nation's currency.

Several lawmakers took turns to share their views on the present situation and the way forward.

The Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashiru Obasa said :"Federal Government should be concerned with policies that can make our local productivity improve. People should stop chasing dollars.

"Government must wake up to its responsibility so that people can patronise our schools, hospitals and goods such that we will not need to seek all these services from other countries.

"Let's start patronising made in Nigeria goods."

Obasa urged Nigerians to develop their own economy by changing their attitude to locally-made goods and services.

Also contributing, Olowo said: "Any nation that refuses to produce is exposed.

"Our import surpasses our export, so the demand for dollars has been presurissing the naira.

"If we increase our local production, demand for dollars will reduce.

"It is high time we limited ourselves to Nigerian foods and services. We must defend and protect the naira and value it."

Mr Gbolahan Yishawu, the Chairman, House Committee on Waterfront Infrastructure, said: " we are already dollarising our economy and we can't continue like this."

Yishawu, who urged the FG to revive local industries with improved power supply, said that government also needed to look into interest rates.

Mr Tunde Braimoh, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Strategy and Security, attributed the continuous fall in the value of naira to ' fancies and fantasies' of Nigerians.

Also contributing, Mr Yinka Ogundimu, the Chairman, House Committee on Finance urged the government to move away from a monolithic to a diversified economy.

Ogundimu urged development banks to assist Nigerians on production activities.

The House resolved to call on Buhari to direct the Minister of Power, Works and Housing to intensify efforts to improve power supply across the country.

It said such a step would make key sectors like manufacturing achieve maximum productivity, which would help the economy.

The lawmakers also called on Central Bank of Nigeria to enforce compliance with the monetary regulations prohibiting indiscriminate use of dollars for domestic transactions.

The Assembly urged the Minister of Information to embark on sensitisation campaign on the need for Nigerians to patronise locally produced goods.

NAN reports that the House also passed for the second reading, a bill for a law to amend the Lagos State Customary Court Law, 2011 and for connected purposes.