“Why Tinubu’s policies will not work” — Senator Ned Nwoko

• Senator Ned Nwoko, from Delta North, warns that Nigeria’s economic reforms will fail if multiple currencies are allowed in circulation, thereby weakening the naira’s value.

• Nwoko highlighted the economic turmoil in Nigeria due to the excessive use of foreign currencies, which is causing a significant undermining of the naira.

• Nigeria’s unique currency system allows foreign currencies like the dollar, pound, and euro to circulate alongside the local currency, making the naira nearly worthless in global demand.

Senator Ned Nwoko, who represents Delta North, has asserted that Nigeria’s economic reforms are destined to fail if the circulation of multiple currencies continues, thereby diminishing the value of the naira.

During an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Nwoko highlighted the current state of disarray in the economy, attributing it to the widespread use of foreign currencies that erodes the naira’s strength.

He emphasized that Nigeria stands out for allowing foreign currencies—such as the dollar, pound, and euro—to coexist with the local currency, which ultimately renders the naira nearly valueless in the global market.

“Nothing will work as long as we keep tying the exchange rate to our consumption. When we became an independent nation we had naira and our currency was quite strong.

“Then suddenly, we began to have other currencies, dollar, particularly, and pounds and now Euro. There’s no country that I know in the world that has the use of multiple currencies.

“If you go to Britain with the dollar, you must change it at the BDC. You cannot pay for anything with the dollars in the UK. Everybody is paid their salaries in pounds in the UK. The same thing when you go to America. Everybody uses dollars.

“So, for things to work, assuming that we agree to phase out the use of foreign currency in Nigeria, what it means is that if you want to buy oil, gas or gold in Nigeria, it would require you to use only the naira.

“So, if they’re coming from the UK for example, they’d look for Naira so that they can transact because they know they can’t use any other currency.

“Currently, nobody looks for Naira because we’ve made it so easy for them to transact with other currencies. They can come here with any currency and that means effectively, there is no global demand for our Naira. Our money has no value beyond Naira.

“For things to work, we must prevent the use of foreign currencies and then people will start to look for the Naira. When they begin to look for Naira, our currency will appreciate,” he stated.

Nwoko has presented a legislative proposal in the Senate aimed at prohibiting the use of foreign currencies in Nigeria, with the intention of enhancing the value of the naira and strengthening the economy.