Real sector starved of Forex – NECA DG

• Urges FG to open borders for food importation

The Director-General of the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, has urged the government to address the unavailability of foreign exchange to the real sector of the economy.

Oyerinde who disclosed this in an interview with Daily Trust, noted that the inability of key members of the real sector to access forex has remained a major challenge affecting the sector.

He noted that the private sector discussed the challenge at a recent meeting with the minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, Wale Edun.

He, however, praised the government for addressing the issue of the volatility of the custom exchange rate, stressing that the Central Bank of Nigeria has issued a new directive to address the challenge, days after it was discussed with Mr. Edun

He counselled the Labour union, government and other stakeholders involved in the negotiation of the new minimum wage to be objective and consider the realities in the country in reaching a desirable conclusion.

While noting that the Labour union has the right to demand for an improved wage, he warned that one of the options available to business owners in an extreme case when a business cannot sustain the wage bill is retrenchment. He said businesses have to breakeven and make profit in order to be able to pay salaries and fulfil other obligations including payment of taxes.

He also said that the government can consider the option of opening the borders for food importation as a short-term solution to address the growing agitation in the land over the high cost of living.

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