Nigerian leader says not yet convinced about currency devaluation

Nigerian leader Muhammadu Buhari late Monday strongly opposed the devaluation of the Naira, the country's currency, saying he was yet to be convinced that the exercise will bring about lasting economic prosperity now and in the future.

Buhari, who described the free fall of the naira as a "ruthless devaluation", told an audience in Abuja that he was yet to get concrete explanation on how the recent exercise by the Central Bank of Nigeria would work out well for the nation.

It was believed that the West African nation had devalued its currency this month, following the apex bank's decision to scrap the fixed rate and allow market forces to determine the naira's value.

Nigeria announced the new policy to deal with the effect of the drop in international oil prices and global growth slowdown which had impacted negatively on the country's economy. Since the implementation of the new policy, however, the Nigerian naira has been in free fall against the U.S. dollar.

Even as local financial experts continue to say the new policy will soon normalize the situation of the local currency, Buhari said previous devaluation exercises of the naira brought no gain to the nation, but rather "killed the local currency". Endit