Duke: Floating naira without local production is impoverishing Nigerians

Former Cross River State governor and Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) presidential candidate Donald Duke has said that allowing the naira to float without first building up local industries is making life harder for Nigerians.

Duke spoke with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday. He argued that the country's economic problems are being worsened by heavy dependence on imports, weak domestic production, rising fuel costs, high interest rates and what he called unbridled government spending.

"No country floats its currency," Duke said. "The currency is your economic worth... You manage your currency."

He said Nigeria should decide what exchange rate it considers fair and then work out how to get there, rather than letting the naira's value slide while people's purchasing power falls.

"When you float the currency, you impoverish your people further because they're not even developing their local industry and so, everybody's importing one thing or another," he said.

Jobs, fuel and borrowing costs

Duke said that as long as Nigeria keeps importing goods it could make at home, the country is creating jobs abroad instead of for its own people.

He also faulted the Central Bank of Nigeria's high interest rate regime, saying it is stopping businesses from borrowing to invest or expand. He said he had discussed the matter with the CBN governor, who he said argues that high rates are needed to fight inflation.

Duke disagreed. "Interest rates don't cause inflation. The price of your fuel causes inflation... because everything moves through transportation," he said.

He added that government offices rely heavily on imported goods, including vehicles, and that buying locally would ease pressure on the naira and create jobs.

On the balance of trade, he said Nigeria must pay closer attention to what it buys from other countries, what it sells to them and how much foreign investment it attracts.

Governance and 2027

Duke also questioned the focus on age in judging political leaders. "Age doesn't affect your brain," he said, arguing that competence and the quality of appointments matter more.

He complained that many appointments are based on politics rather than on who can deliver good governance.

Looking ahead to the presidential contest, Duke said he is excited about the field of candidates, naming Adewole Adebayo of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and Peter Obi of the National Democratic Congress (NDC). He said he looks forward to serious debates in which candidates explain their plans for the country.