BY GODWIN OBI
The Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Muda Yusuf said the astronomical increase of the exchange rate for the computation of import duty is a double jeopardy for investors across all sectors especially those in the real sector because it will further fuel inflation as production and operating costs escalate.
“It is even more troubling that the rate increase takes immediate effect. This is a policy action that is difficult to justify, especially in the light of the multiple headwinds that businesses are grappling with,” he said.
He therefore appealed to the CBN to reverse the rate hike in the interest of the already impoverished segments of the society and the numerous businesses that are already on the verge of collapse.
He also recommended that the determination of the exchange rate for import duty computation should be treated as a fiscal policy matter and located within the remit of the fiscal authorities.
“This is necessary for proper alignment with extant fiscal policies,” he added.