Too Much Printing of Naira Behind Fall – Gov Otti

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti has attributed the sharp decline of Naira to the excessive printing of money by the Federal Government.

In an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Otti, a member of the Labour Party (LP), stressed the need for a shift from consumption-oriented practices to production-focused strategies to revitalize the economy.

He pointed out the challenge posed by Nigeria’s heavy reliance on imports, which places great strain on the foreign exchange market.

He said:

“I believe that the major problem we have is financial discipline. We are dealing with an economy where we printed so much money, at the last count, we will be nearing N30 trillion.

“So what happens with ways and means is that the quantum of goods that you have available in an economy does not increase with the quantity of money that you print.

“The issue of production versus consumption, if the economy must recover, we must move to production.

“That does not necessarily mean we will reduce consumption; what it means is that we will be consuming what we produce, to the extent that we are importing virtually everything. You keep piling pressure on the foreign exchange market.”