US tells Nigerian Govt to devalue the Naira

The United States on Monday has stated that it would press Nigeria in talks this week to adopt a more flexible foreign exchange rate to boost growth and investment in the country.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told an audience at the U.S. Institute of Peace that Nigeria should ensure that the value of the naira currency versus the U.S. dollar was "more realistic."

"While most people complain about the possibility of there being a devaluation, people are already operating on a devalued currency, and the only people who are not, are people who are doing it officially," Thomas-Greenfield said.

"Our recommendation is, and we will have discussions about it... that they should look at the exchange rate and try to make the exchange rate more realistic to what the value of the naira is to the dollar," she added.

She spoke before talks in Washington to be launched by Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday and which will focus on Nigeria's economy, security and development.

Reuters