By Goodluck Ikiebe
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Governor, Godwin Emefiele, is currently at the Presidential Villa in Abuja for a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
Tinubu, whose vehicle entered the villa at 2:30 pm, inspected a parade by the Guards of Honour,
The President was later received by Vice-President Kashim Shettima; Emefiele; Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL); Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila; and Permanent Secretary, State House, Tijjani Umar.
Wale Edun, former Lagos Finance Commissioner; and James Faleke, a House of Reps member, were also at the villa.
In his inaugural address on Monday, Tinubu had charged the Central Bank to work towards a unified exchange rate.
He had also vowed to review the Naira redesign policy of the former administration which was implemented by the CBN.
He had said: “Monetary policy needs thorough house cleansing. The Central Bank must work towards a unified exchange rate. This will direct funds away from arbitrage into meaningful investment in the plant, equipment and jobs that power the real economy.
“Interest rates need to be reduced to increase investment and consumer purchasing in ways that sustain the economy at a higher level. Whatever merits it had in concept, the currency swap was too harshly applied by the CBN given the number of unbanked Nigerians.
“The policy shall be reviewed. In the meantime, my administration will treat both currencies as legal tender.”