Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari, has reiterated that the country will not devalue its national currency, the naira, in spite of the fact that it has dropped on the secondary market to the level of 360 per $1 in mid February, Reuters wrote. President Buhari said that Nigeria could not afford currency devaluation as it had few exports apart from oil and is depended on imports, costs of which would then rise.

The central bank has also resisted depreciation by imposing hard currency curbs, which has hit Nigerian firms trying to import raw materials and spare parts.

Africa’s top oil producer is in an economic crisis caused by a slump in oil revenues. Recently, Nigeria’s government has announced it would not remove petroleum subsidies, yet it would spend no money on it in 2016, disclosed Minister of Petroleum Resources, Dr Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, according to Africa News. He added that the government had commenced pumping oil from two refineries to cater to the country’s oil and gas needs.

Meanwhile, authorities have restored 70% of pipelines that had been vandalized in order to start shipping crude to the refineries. Nigeria has successfully increased its daily production from a 1.6mb/d low in 2009 to 2.2mb/d this year. In line with President Buharu’s oil and gas sector reform plans, the country aims at reducing costs of crude production and expanding employment opportunities. The government’s focus is to liberalize the sector.