President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has expressed optimism about the future of the naira, predicting that the local currency could strengthen to about ₦1,000 to the United States Dollar before the end of the year.
Dangote made the projection on Tuesday while speaking at the launch of the Nigeria Industrial Policy in Abuja, noting that recent economic reforms by the Federal Government were beginning to yield results for manufacturers.
According to him, the improving policy environment has boosted confidence among investors and industrialists.
“I mean, today, if you look at it, Your Excellency, I believe with the policies that you have implemented in government, people now have started seeing the result, and manufacturers are very, very happy,” he said at the event attended by Vice President Kashim Shettima and other dignitaries.
Dangote added that the naira, currently trading around ₦1,300 to the dollar, could appreciate further if importation is curtailed and local production strengthened.
Today, the dollar is ₦1,340. Mr. Vice-President, I can assure you that, with what I know, by blocking all this importation, the currency this year will be as low as ₦1,100 if we are lucky. The only thing is for, maybe, the government to stop the naira from getting stronger so that they will keep collecting more naira.
“But it’s a catch-22 situation where, now, if the naira gets stronger, it means that everything will go down. Everything will go down because we are an import-based country, which we shouldn’t be. What we should be doing is manufacturing all the things that we need,” the billionaire businessman noted.
Dangote urged the government to provide stronger protection for local investors through incentives and improved infrastructure, especially electricity, which he described as a major constraint to doing business.
He noted that while the new industrial policy was a step in the right direction, it must be backed with deliberate measures to support manufacturers and industrialists to drive job creation and economic growth.
Dangote’s prediction comes days after the Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, also projected that the naira would appreciate to ₦1,000/$1 before year-end.
Otedola attributed his optimism to rising local refining capacity, which he said would reduce pressure on foreign exchange demand.
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