Crude Oil Theft Must Stop For Stable Naira and Foreign Reserve Build Up – Emefiele

According to CBN Governor Emefiele, addressing the issue of oil theft is essential to accumulating strong foreign exchange reserves and ensuring a stable naira exchange rate.

This was said by Emefiele in a keynote speech he gave at the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria’s (CIBN) annual Bankers Dinner Night, when he also provided a forecast for the country’s economy in 2023.

Emefiele urged Nigerians to accept the new naira notes, emphasizing that the decision to redesign the larger denomination notes was made with the country’s best interests in mind.

“Monetary policy decisions will remain balanced, judicious, research driven, adequate and supportive of the real economy subject to underlying fundamentals.”

While highlighting efforts of the CBN to maintain exchange rate stability in 2022 in spite of the various challenges in the forex market, Emefiele stressed that the nation will be able to build robust external reserves and achieve exchange rate stability if the problem of oil theft is corrected

He said: “The current capital flow reversals from emerging markets are expected to continue to exert considerable pressure on market rates.

“This pressure could be amplified by the forthcoming elections, especially as the political marketplace heats up.

“Notwithstanding these pressures, the CBN is determined to maintain its stable exchange policy stance over the next few months through innovative policy measures to manage the demand and supply of foreign exchange.

“If the current problem of oil theft is promptly corrected, we could expect a resumed inflow of crude oil receipts into the official reserves. This could foster gross stability in the foreign exchange market and enhance exchange rate stability.”