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Nigeria's Buhari sees threat to West African currency plan

Published 23/06/2020, 19:53
© Reuters.

By Felix Onuah
ABUJA, June 23 (Reuters) - Nigerian President Muhammadu
Buhari said on Tuesday that West Africa's plan to adopt a common
currency was being put at risk by some countries' attempts to
progress more quickly than the agreed timetable.
Nations in the region are aiming to adopt a single currency
to boost trade and economic growth.
Nigeria, the largest economy in West Africa, currently
operates a managed float for its currency, while several other
countries peg theirs to the euro.
Buhari told the heads of state of the 15-member West African
Community of African States in a virtual meeting that he was
concerned francophone countries - such as Ivory Coast and
Senegal - had decided to replace their currencies with the new
unified one, the Eco, ahead of others.
"It, therefore, gives me an uneasy feeling that the UEMOA
Zone (francophone countries) now wishes to take up the Eco in
replacement for its CFA Franc ahead of the rest of the member
states," the Nigerian leader said, arguing the move could
jeopardise the project.
Buhari said Nigeria was committed to the single currency and
urged leaders to take a common position to safeguard the region.
"We cannot ridicule ourselves by entering a union to
disintegrate, potentially no sooner than we enter into it,"
Buhari told the meeting.
He acknowledged the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic could
make member states cautious about complying with agreed
standards as economies face recession. Several West African
countries rely on commodities, whose prices are regulated on
international markets.

(Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Mark Potter)

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