The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has blamed Nigerians’ dependence on imports for  the devaluation of the country’s Naira.
The apex bank consequently urge Nigerians to adopt homemade products to boost Nigeria’s economy and stop the Naira from depreciating further in the parallel market.
CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Osita Nwanisiobi, disclosed this recently at the opening session of a two-day expo organised by the apex bank in Owerri, Imo State.
Nwanisiobi, who was represented by the Deputy Director, Corporate Communications Department, said during the Covid-19 pandemic, the CBN’s Anchor Borrower’s programme was the nation’s saving grace for improved rice availability.
The actions, he added, were aimed at emancipating enterprises and eliminating poverty.
Nwanisiobi, who spoke on the topic, “Promoting Financial Stability and Economic Development,” said the CBN had implemented interventions in the agricultural, manufacturing, and other sectors.
“No successful economy thrives on the promotion of imported products over the exportation of locally manufactured products,” he said.
He continued that “during the Covid-19 pandemic, rice was the most single popular component of our palliatives. This is a result of the CBN’s Anchor Borrower’s programme for rice farmers.”
Also speaking, Mrs Uchenna Onyene of CBN’s Currency Operations Department, who spoke at the event, urged Nigerians to use the naira with caution, citing Section 21, Sub-section 4 of the CBN Act 2007.
She also urged Nigerians to adopt the CBN’s cashless strategy to decrease risk and improve transaction seamlessness, noting that the bank was dedicated to ensuring payment innovation for a better customer experience.

“Nigeria’s capital inflows plummeted to a four-year low of $9.66 billion in 2020, only to drop further to $6.7 billion in 2021.

“International trade remained a major concern as Nigeria progressed with historical trade depict. Nigeria’s international trade balance for 2021 has dropped to a deficit of N1.94 trillion, the largest on record.

“Nigeria continues to be affected by the repercussions. Nigeria’s exports climbed by 51% to N18.91 trillion in 2021, up from N12.52 trillion the year before”, she said.

The increase in export profits, she stated further, was not enough to offset the 64.1% increase in import bills, which totalled N20.84 trillion.

She noted that this resulted to the FX Outflows, a $5.26 billion negative balance of payment which was made in 2021, putting even more pressure on the local currency and necessitating the use of the external reserve.