Nigeria says no plan to devaluate currency

Nigeria's apex bank had no intention to devalue the nation's currency, an official said.

Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, told reporters in Abuja, the nation's capital city that the last devaluation took place in February and would remain so for now.

There is no intention to depreciate or adjust the currency any longer, he added, saying the President has been very clear on this; the Vice President has been very clear on this.

"Let me further reiterate our position at the CBN that we are not considering any further depreciation of the currency," he said.

He said the focus of the bank was how to deepen the foreign exchange market to make it viable.

"What we are trying to concentrate on right now is how to improve and deepen the foreign exchange market by improving supply of foreign exchange into the market," he added.

"And to do so, we are trying to encourage people to export and earn your export proceeds and use your export proceeds to import whatever you need to import," Emefiele said.

Emefiele said very soon the CBN would be launching a campaign called PAVE, which means produce locally, add value and export your product and earn your foreign exchange for your imports.

He said the campaign was the only way producers could support the efforts of CBN in intervening and providing foreign exchange in the market to meet the import needs of the people.

"It is very clear, what we need to do is reduce our propensity to import but we will not depreciate our currency. For now we will not," the CBN chief added. Endit