I Believe Naira Is Undervalued But Some Nigerians Panic, Make Irrational Decisions —Central Bank Governor, Cardoso
Adedokun Waliyu 
Dr. Oluyemi Cardoso, the Governor of The Central Bank of Nigeria has blamed the depreciation of the country’s currency, the Naira on unnecessary panic and irrational decisions made by some citizens.
Dr Cardoso said this on Monday morning during an interview with Arise News TV.
The apex bank governor said the Naira is not getting the deserved rate for its value because some Nigerians panic and make irrational decisions.
He said, “I do believe that in Naira is undervalued. I do believe it. It’s undervalued for a number of reasons, not least of which is the distortionary impact of panic on the part of some people, not really understanding what’s going on and how things get determined.
“And as a result of which irrational decisions are taken. My view, honestly, is that the time for panic is not now, and the time for panic and for cynicism is not now. That time is past. We are on the road now where the right policy decisions are being taken.
He said, “I do believe that in Naira is undervalued. I do believe it. It’s undervalued for a number of reasons, not least of which is the distortionary impact of panic on the part of some people, not really understanding what’s going on and how things get determined.
“And as a result of which irrational decisions are taken. My view, honestly, is that the time for panic is not now, and the time for panic and for cynicism is not now. That time is past. We are on the road now where the right policy decisions are being taken.
“What I’m saying has been validated by the international community; people who’ve seen it in other places, the rating agencies, our ratings have strengthened.
“It’s not just because they have nothing else to do, it’s because they look at what is going on, they analyse it, they’ve seen how other countries go and have gone and they draw their conclusions on that. And they are not sentimental about these things.
“People who follow that thinking will definitely see that Nigeria is on the mend.
It was earlier reported that the Nigerian Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, on Wednesday, summoned Cardoso to appear before it on Tuesday (tomorrow).
The Senate wants the CBN governor to answer questions on the state of the economy and the free fall of the naira in the forex market.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Vice President, Kashim Shettima, recently expressed his “disappointment” with Nigerians who went on the social media platform, X (formerly Twitter) to celebrate the depreciation of the Naira against the dollar, labelling them as “clowns.”
Shettima made this known while speaking at a function in Abuja on Wednesday, January 31.
In the video which was shared by a Youtuber, Symfoni, Shettima says, “It is not only disheartening and disenchanting, but also heartbreaking that yesterday when the Naira culminated to N1,500 to the dollar, instead of us to coagulate into a single force and salvage our nation economy, sadly, some clowns are celebrating on Twitter of an impending implosion of the Nigerian economy.”
