Naira weakens slightly against dollar as Buhari says devaluation never paid Nigeria any good

The naira weakened slightly against the dollar at the parallel market on Friday
as it exchanged at N321 to the dollar.
Also President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said that his reason for insisting on no further devaluation of Naira was that the recent ones never paid Nigeria any
good.
The Nigerian currency lost N1 to the dollar from N320 rate on Wednesday. The naira also fell against the pound sterling and the Euro on Friday to N452 and N362, respectively from their previous rates of N450 and N360.
The naira still maintained N197 to the dollar at the official CBN segment of the
market.
Traders said that activities in the market were still low due to late implementation
of the 2016 budget.
They said that the budget would indicate the direction of the economy in 2016.
Also President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday said that his reason for insisting on no further devaluation of Naira was that the recent ones never paid Nigeria any
good.
The president who spoke while meeting with members of the Council of Retired
Federal Permanent Secretaries, led by Otunba Christopher Tugbobo at the
presidential villa, Abuja stated that he was yet to be convinced by anyone on doing
the contrary.
"When I was military Head of State, the IMF and the World Bank wanted us devalue the Naira and remove petrol
subsidy but I stood my grounds for the good of Nigeria. "The Naira remained strong against the Dollar and other foreign currencies until I
was removed from office in August, 1985 and it was devalued. "But how many factories were built and
how many jobs were created by the devaluation?
"That is why I'm still asking to be convinced today on the benefits of devaluation," he said President Buhari also accepted the Council's pledge of support for the successful implementation of his
administration's change agenda, especially in the priority areas of improving security, curbing corruption and revitalizing the national economy.
"I am glad you have rightly identified the key issues we campaigned on.
"We need a dynamic bureaucracy which will not mislead us into taking wrong
decisions," the President said.
The Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries was established in 2004 to
serve as a platform for retired permanent secretaries to offer constructive advice to
government on key policy issues. Also speaking, the Pioneer Chairman of the
Council, Chief Philip Asiodu said that members of the council want the present
Administration to succeed, stressing that Nigeria had already lost many opportunities for progress.
"We are non-partisan. The interest of Nigeria is paramount to us and we are
anxious that you should succeed," Chief Asiodu told the President.