The decision of the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to peg one dollar at N160 for intending pilgrims to Israel and Saudi Arabia in 2015 has been condemned by a cross section of Nigerians who described it as lacking any economic sense especially at a period when the nation is facing serious economic problem.
A preponderant majority of Nigerians who spoke to ionigeria.com on the decision were of the unanimous view that religious tourism is a personal endeavour that the government should not get involved with or finance under any guise.
“Granting people going to Mecca and Israel for pilgrimages a concessional exchange rate in my view is tantamount to the Federal government partly financing their trips”, says Jude Nwankwo, a hospitality industry professional who resides in Lagos.
In the words of Demola Olajide, a Lagos based business man, “My own fear is that some smart Nigerians will get the dollars at the N160 to a dollar and round-trip it to the black market at N240 to a dollar. We are in a potential situation where some people will make huge gain from doing nothing whereas the real business men and women are unable to get foreign currencies to buy at the CBN exchange rate
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