An economist and former Director General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Prof. Akpa Ekpo, has emphasized the importance of the Nigerian government actively implementing the currency swap agreement with the People’s Bank of China. This action is seen as a crucial step in reducing the country’s dependence on the US dollar for international trade. Ekpo made this plea on Saturday, addressing the foreign exchange crisis driven by the excessive reliance on the dollar.
He stressed that the current situation in the forex market underscores the necessity of implementing the currency swap agreement with China. According to him, this would diversify the currencies used in trade, allowing Nigerians engaging with China to use either the Chinese currency or the Naira instead of the dollar or euro. Such a move would alleviate the pressure on the dollar and pound.
Ekpo also urged the government to take this matter seriously, noting that although the agreement was signed and initiated in the past, its progress seemed to have stalled. The Nigeria-China currency swap agreement, a three-year trade deal that began in 2018 and was renewed in 2021, is aimed at reducing reliance on the US dollar when importing from China, ultimately strengthening the Naira.
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