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Members of the House of Representatives on Thursday raised grave concern over the tacit devaluation of the Naira through the exchange rate benchmark adopted by the Federal government in the 2022 Appropriation Bill.
Debating the general principles of the bill on Thursday, the Chairman, House Services Committee, Hon. Olawale Tasir Raji (APC. Lagos), drew attention of his colleagues to the danger of pegging the exchange rate at over N400/$1 in the coming, describing the trend as worrisome and detrimental to the common man.
“Mr. Speaker, the 2022 budget is on an exchange rate of $410.15 per US Dollar ($). This is a clear official devaluation of the Naira (§). This is bound to further impoverish Nigerians.
“Nigeria is an import dependent economy and devaluation of our currency over the years has not benefitted our people in any way. It has led to high rate of inflation, drastic reduction in the purchasing power of the citizens, increased cost of doing business, corruption and brain drain particularly among our highly | skilled professionals. Rather than this continued devaluation of our currency, | recommend that efforts should be geared towards strengthening of the Naira,” Hon. Raji argued.
The House on Thursday passed the 2022 appropriation bill of N16.39 trillion for second reading referring it to the appropriation committee for further legislative action.
In his contribution,Yusuf Gagdi emphasised the need for thorough scrutiny of the budget to ensure it aligns with needs and aspirations of the Nigerian people.
Gudaji Kazaure urged the executive arm to block all financial leakages and utilise recovered looted funds judiciously in funding deficit in the 2022 budget.
Reps Spokesman, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu in his contribution called for inclusion of climate change and ecological challenges in the budget to address such problems.
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