The Port Harcourt Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (PHCCIMA) on Thursday said it supported the position of the National Assembly on the proposed currency reforms.
Mr Vincent Furo, the President of the chamber, gave the support in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Port Harcourt.
Furo said that the National Assembly was right to disapprove of the N5000 note as part of the nation's legal tender.
He said that the chamber would condemn any attempt to devalue the naira and that PHCCIMA would not support any policy that had been publicly denounced.
The chamber boss lauded the National Assembly for its openness to describe the proposal as "anti-people".
"We expect the Presidency and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to listen to the National Assembly because they constitute the institutional representation of the people.
"Moreover, this is not the right time to embark on printing a new naira note.
"It is in fact the right time to pay more attention to resuscitating moribund industries," he said.
He also advised legislators to be consistent in the discharge of their constitutional responsibilities and carry out their watch dog roles with vigour.
"This is the principle of check and balances at work," he said.
Mr Christopher Okorie, a member of the chamber, said that the proposal would devalue the naira "to a mockery level".
Okorie, the Chairman of Phonic Marine Services Ltd., described the proposal as "road map to hyper-inflation".
"If the proposal is endorsed by the authorities, the dwindling purchasing power of the naira will further dwindle.
"Even the cost implication of printing the new note requires the CBN to rethink that proposal, " he said. (NAN)
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