2022 Budget: Hon Raji Raises Alarm Over Naira Devaluation

• Pegging Of N410.15 Per Dollar In 2022 Budget Will Further devalue Naira, Says Hon Raji.
• Hon Raji said that the exchange rate was bound to further impoverish Nigerians….

Ekohotblog reports that Tasir Olawale Raji, the member of the Lagos House of Representatives for Epe Federal Constituency, has expressed concern over what he calls an official depreciation of the naira based on the exchange rate suggested in the 2022 budget.

The Chairman of the House Services Committee, who made the observation in Abuja on Thursday while contributing to the debate on the general principles of the 2022 budget, stated that the 2022 appropriation bill based on an exchange rate of N410.15 per US dollar was a “clear official devaluation of the Naira.”

Hon Raji said that the exchange rate was bound to further impoverish Nigerians as the country “is an import-dependent economy and devaluation of its currency over the years has not benefitted the people in any way.

“Nigeria is an import dependent economy and devaluation of our currency over the years has not benefitted our people in any way. It has led to high rate of inflation, drastic reduction in the purchasing power of the citizens, increased cost of doing business, corruption and brain drain particularly among our highly skilled professionals”, he said.

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He said rather than the continued devaluation of Nigeria’s currency, efforts should be geared towards strengthening of the Naira.

Raji also expressed worry over the NNPC’s current flexibility to estimate the cost of importing fuel and deduct it from the country’s oil income account, saying that such practices should be scrutinized to minimize revenue leakages.

While applauding the Federal Government for making significant strides in infrastructure development, particularly in the rail transportation sector, the senator asked the president to prioritize the Calabar-Lagos coastal line to guarantee its prompt completion.

He also urged the House Committee on Power to work with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) to ensure speedy completion of the Omptosho-Epe-Ahah power project which commenced in 2012 and has remained uncompleted nine years after the award of the contract.

Hon Tasir Olawale Raji has been instrumental in the reconstruction of hostel blocks that was gutted by a fire outbreak at Epe Grammar school. Wale Raji has also personally undertaken several other education intervention projects across his constituency.

On electricity, Wale Raji, in his unerring determination to positively touch the lives of his constituents, donated electric poles to bolster the supply of electricity to residents of Babatunde Ojikutu, Orilowo Oladapo and Jagun Oba Ilesanmi Streets in an area popularly known as Igbodile.

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The quintessential lawmaker also played a crucial role in facilitating the reconstruction of the Epe-Itoikin road, a project which was chaperoned by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila.