Forex crisis: Nigeria Labour blames Government, meets on Monday
By Usman Ahmed Kanempress
30th October 2023
The Nigeria Labour Congress has lamented the devastating impact of the forex crisis on the economy and demanded urgent stabilisation of the naira.
The NLC President, Joe Ajaero, said this on Sunday, blaming government officials’ love for foreign luxury products for the free fall of the national currency.
Ajaero warned that the Nigerian economy was at risk of “a wave of devastating consequences” if the naira failed to stabilise against the American dollar.
The NLC president’s warning came ahead of the organised labour and the Federal Government’s meeting scheduled to hold on Monday.
At the meeting, the Government and the organised labour will review the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding both signed on subsidy removal palliatives.
In a statement titled, “Urgent action to stabilise the naira amidst alarming depreciation,” the NLC president, said repercussions of the weakened currency would be felt by workers and the masses.
He said while the investor and exporter window has been relatively stable at around N770 to 780/$, the parallel market, where most individuals and businesses get their forex from, traded at over N1,000/$.
Financial experts have been saying the naira’s depreciation in the parallel market is attributed to an increasing forex demand which does not equate to supply from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Kanempress gathered that this decline has further led to manufacturers struggling to get raw materials, with more companies planning to sack more workers or shut down.
With the declining naira value, manufacturers are struggling to cut production, jobs, and raw material imports.
Confirming Monday’s proposed meeting, the National Vice President of
