Year 2020 ECOWA Regional Common Currency Date Not Realistic, Economist

The proposed single currency for the West African coast by its members may not be realised by the target date of 2020, an economist has said.
Marcel Okeke, an ex-chief Economist with Zenith Bank Plc, said the single currency proposal for the region comes with some challenges and criteria that many of the member's countries will not be able to meet
Okeke, who is now the Lead Consultant, Mascot Consult Limited noted that the single currency has been on for many years and needs the member countries to attain key milestones for its successful takeoff,.
He spoke at the Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) 2018 Economic Review and 2019 0utlook held in Lagos at the weekend.
"It is not certain that it will happen in 2020. For instance, a country like Nigeria and other countries must not have inflation rates that are double digits. They must not have exchange rates that move up and down. So, there must be stability in all those indicators across the board. As I stand with you, many member countries have not attained this feat," he said.
He said there are pros and cons for its implementation. "You see, some member countries of the Eurozone are having serious economic problem, which is rubbing off on the rest of the members. That is the type of challenge we might have in ECOWAS and I do not believe that the common currency plan will happen by years 2020," he added.