By Nelson Utip
Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, Godwin has demeaned The Central Bank of Nigeria’s increment of the Mone1tary Policy Rtae (MPR) by 22.75 per cent, saying it is not the solution to the current economic crisis in the country he however advocated for increase in local production to carter for goods and services.
As a guest speaker during the annual dinner of Edo zone bankers committee in Benin City, the Edo State capital, governor Obaseki bared his mind on the present economic situation in the country.
“I understand that the monetary rational for increasing MPR but fundamentally and fiscally, it is not going to lead to growth in our economy. We must focus on the fundamentals which is increasing production, making sure our citizens produce the goods and services we consume and depend less on import.
“Our economic policy and monetary policy cannot be determined by exchange rate alone. So, this whole issue of increasing the cash reserves in a bid to tighten liquidity is going to be detrimental to our economy. I understand the challenge the monetary authorities face but unfortunately you cannot plan with one hand.
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“The economy is about the fiscal and monetary policies, both must work hand in hand and when they don’t as they don’t in Nigeria, we will have crisis. So, we should focus on fiscal issues so that we can grow our economy our of the challenges we have.
“We should not panic too much because of foreign exchange, we must focus on how we can do things within our economy, how we can grow our economy to earn more foreign exchange. Foreign exchange is our problem, but I believe that creating jobs for young people should be more of a priority for us a people at this time.” The Governor said.
It would be recalled that The CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) recently raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by four hundred basis points to 22.75 percent from 18.75 percent.
