President Muhammadu Buhari has urged ECOWAS
member countries to tread carefully in pushing for a single currency in the
sub-region by 2020.
Mr Femi Adesina, the President’s Special
Adviser on Media and Publicity, said Buhari stated this at the 4th meeting of
the Presidential Task Force on the ECOWAS Currency Programme, in Niamey,
Republic of Niger.
The President drew attention of ECOWAS member
countries to the challenges faced by the European Union in realising the same
goal.
According to him, the necessary economic
fundamentals among countries continue to differ over the years, making it more
difficult to pull through with the project by 2020.
“Nigeria advises that we proceed cautiously
with the integration agenda, taking into consideration the above concerns and
the lessons currently unfolding in the European Union.
“To that end, Nigeria will caution against
any position that pushes for a fast-track approach to monetary union, while
neglecting fundamentals and other pertinent issues,’’ he said.
The Nigerian leader noted that some of the
obstacles to realising the roadmap for the implementation of a single currency
include diverse and uncertain macro - economic fundamentals of many countries
and unrealistic inflation targeting based on flexible exchange rate regime.
According to him, inconsistency with the
African Monetary Co-operation Programme is another obstacle to the realisation
of the roadmap.Source: Daily Trust
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