The federal government is proposing that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) to begin collecting charges, fees, fines and others in Naira rather than in foreign currencies.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga disclosed this during a briefing at the state house, Abuja where he noted that it is part of the economic stabilisation bill to be presented by the President to the National Assembly (NASS).
According to him, the proposal is part of effort from the federal government to prioritise the use of local currencies in Nigeria and reduce pressure on the foreign exchange market.
He stated, “the second one has to do with the operating laws guiding NIMASA and Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), the amendment under that in the economic stabilisation bills is that all their fees, charges, levies, fines and other monies accruing to them and payable to those agencies will now be paid in Naira at the applicable exchange rate.”
“Hitherto, those agencies were charging in Dollars but now collect it in Naira. This government wants to put a lot of emphasis on our national currency instead of everything being dollarised in our economy.”
The proposal reflects the federal government’s effort to decouple the Nigerian economy from the vagaries of the foreign exchange market vis-a-vis the exchange rate of the Naira to the USD. Such proposal will also reduce the demand for foreign exchange among players in that sector which will ease the pressures on the forex market in Nigeria.
