At a meeting called at his instance on Thursday to address the Foreign Exchange crisis and the problem of economic downturn, among others, Bola Tinubu failed, yet again, to showcase any concrete policy steps that his administration is taking to contain the crises of currency fluctuation and poverty that face the country.
Rather, he told the country and experts who have been offering ideas on how to resolve the crisis that he and his team should not be distracted and allowed time to continue cooking their cocktail that has brought untold hardship to the people of Nigeria.
I don’t agree with that.
The wrong policies of the Tinubu administration continue to cause untold pain and distress on the economy and the rest of us cannot keep quiet when, clearly, the government has demonstrated sufficient poverty of ideas to redeem the situation.
If the government will not hold on to their usual hubris, there are ways that the country can walk out of the current crisis.
After a careful assessment of the state of our economy at the twilights of the last administration, I knew full well that the economy of the country was heading for the ditch and came up with a number of policy prescriptions that would rescue the country from getting into the mess that we are currently in.
Those ideas, encapsulated in my policy document titled: My Covenant With Nigerians made the following prescriptions:
- I had signed on to a commitment to reform the operation of the foreign exchange market. Specifically, there was a commitment to eliminate multiple exchange rate windows. The system only served to enrich opportunists, rent-seekers, middlemen, arbitrageurs, and fraudsters.
- A fixed exchange rate system would be out of the question. First, it would not be in line with our philosophy of running an open, private sector friendly economy. Secondly, operating a successful fixed-exchange rate system would require sufficient FX reserves to defend the domestic currency at all times. But as is well known, Nigeria’s major challenge is the persistent FX illiquidity occasioned by limited foreign exchange inflows to the country. Without sufficient FX reserves, confidence in the Nigerian economy will remain low, and Naira will remain under pressure. The economy will have no firepower to support its currency. Besides, a fixed-exchange rate system is akin to running a subsidy regime!
- On the other hand, given Nigeria’s underlying economic conditions, adopting a floating exchange rate system would be an overkill. We would have encouraged the Central Bank of Nigeria to adopt a gradualist approach to FX management. A managed-floating system would have been a preferred option. In simple terms, in such a system, the Naira may fluctuate daily, but the CBN will step in to control and stabilize its value. Such control will be exercised judiciously and responsibly, especially to curve speculative activities.
- Why control, you may ask.
(i). Nigeria has insufficient, unstable, and precarious foreign reserves to support a free-floating rate regime. Nigeria’s reserves did not have enough foreign exchange that can be sold freely at fair market prices during crises.
(ii). Nigeria is not earning enough US$ from its sales of crude oil because its production of oil has been declining. And,
(iii). Nigeria is not attracting foreign investment in appreciable quantities.
These are enough reasons for Nigeria to seek to have a greater control of the market, at least in the short to medium term when convergence is expected to be achieved.
Tinubu’s new policy FX management policy was hurriedly put together without proper plans and consultations with stakeholders. The government failed to anticipate or downplayed the potential and real negative consequences of its actions.
The Government did not allow the CBN the independence to design and implement a sound FX Management Policy that would have dealt with such issues as increasing liquidity, curtailing/regulating demand, dealing with FX backlogs and rate convergence.
I firmly believe that if and when the Government is ready to open itself to sound counsels, as well as control internal bleedings occasioned by corruption and poorly negotiated foreign loans, the Nigerian economy would begin to find a footing again. -AA
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS NEW DIRECTOR/CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER OF NIGERIAN FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT (NFIU)
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Ms. Hafsat Abubakar Bakari to serve as the Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), pending her confirmation by the Senate.
Ms. Bakari is a lawyer and financial intelligence expert with years of experience in anti-money laundering, counter-terrorism financing, and counter-proliferation financing (AML/CFT/CPF).
Before her appointment as the Chief Executive Officer of the NFIU, she served as Deputy Director at the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, and was at different times the Head of the General Services Unit; Head of the Strategy and Reorientation Unit, and Head of the Board Secretariat of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The President anticipates that Ms. Bakari will bring her wealth of experience and expertise to full discharge in this critical role, especially in view of his administration’s war against illicit financial flows and other sharp practices currently prevalent in segments of the nation’s foreign exchange markets.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
February 20, 2024
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS DCG KEMI NANNA NANDAP AS COMPTROLLER-GENERAL OF THE NIGERIA IMMIGRATION SERVICE
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of DCG Kemi Nanna Nandap to serve as the Comptroller-General of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), effective from March 1, 2024.
DCG Nandap takes over from Mrs. Caroline Wura-Ola Adepoju, whose term in office expires on February 29, 2024.
Before her appointment as Comptroller-General, Nandap was the Deputy Comptroller-General in charge of the Migration Directorate of the Service.
The President anticipates that the new Comptroller-General will deepen the ongoing reforms in the service and create a robust mechanism for efficient and dedicated service delivery to Nigerians, as well as strengthen the nation’s security through proactive and effective border security and migration management.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
February 21, 2024
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU TO AFREXIMBANK: WE ARE DETERMINED TO SUCCEED IN HEALTHCARE
President Bola Tinubu says his administration is strongly committed to providing excellent healthcare facilities for all Nigerians and will continue to prioritize domestic and foreign direct investments in the sector.
The President made these remarks at a meeting with Professor Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank), accompanied by a delegation from King’s College Hospital, London (KCH).
President Tinubu welcomed the partnership between Afreximbank and KCH London to establish a first-rate healthcare facility in Abuja, called Africa Medical Centre of Excellence (AMCE), scheduled for completion in 2025.
”We welcome this significant step towards investing in Nigeria’s healthcare sector. This facility is a great commitment to humanity. We are open and ready to assist this project in every way possible.
”Africa is in need, and Nigeria is committed to the need of its people. Putting people’s welfare first is putting healthcare first. The training and development of our people are our priorities, and we thank KCH, known for its global reputation, for partnering with us.
”Out of every five black persons, one is a Nigerian. We are racing against time to meet our obligations to our people. This project will further strengthen our long-term vision for the healthcare of our people. We are determined to succeed, and whatever you need in order for us to achieve this project, I want to assure you, we will do it,” he said.
President Tinubu, who was recently appointed the African Union (AU) Champion for Human Resources for Health and Community Health Delivery Partnership, emphasized that the continent cannot afford to remain behind in the quality and accessibility of its healthcare system.
The President, therefore, asked Afreximbank not to relent in its commitment to investing in projects that will ensure that Africa possesses the expertise and resources to meet its own healthcare needs.
The Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Professor Muhammad Ali Pate, explained that the Bank and KCH are also collaborating on building a medical and nursing school alongside AMCE, in line with the administration’s commitment to expanding the training of healthcare professionals in the country.
”Your Excellency, you will recall that in October 2023, you approved an initiative to unlock Nigeria’s healthcare value chain and appointed a coordinator. We have worked in the last few months to identify various work streams.
”I am pleased to inform Your Excellency, that today, we signed an MOU with the President of Afreximbank for a $1 billion facility to finance a credit and equity contribution pool for private sector investors interested in investing in Nigeria’s health sector value chain,” he said.
The Nigerian-born President of the Bank, Professor Oramah, pledged the Bank’s commitment to developing quality health infrastructure on the continent, and contributing substantially to the reduction of medical tourism out of Africa, while promoting intra-Africa trade, and creating jobs in the country and continent.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
February 21, 2024
STATE HOUSE PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU APPOINTS NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR AT THE NIGERIAN EXPORT-IMPORT BANK
President Bola Tinubu has approved the appointment of Mr. Ibrahim Khalil Gaga as Executive Director, Corporate Services, at the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM).
Mr. Gaga, a lawyer, has gained over 25 years of experience in the banking sector as well as in legal services.
Prior to his appointment, he was the Board Secretary and Legal Adviser at NEXIM Bank.
The President expects that Mr. Gaga will bring to his new role renewed zeal and diligence to enhance NEXIM’s mandate of providing finance, risk mitigation services, accurate trade and market information, as well as export advisory services to Nigerians in full support of the economic development agenda of his administration.
Chief Ajuri Ngelale
Special Adviser to the President
(Media & Publicity)
February 21, 2024
