The Presidency has hinted on the possibility of the dollar exchanging for between N1000-1200 by the end of the year.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga in response to a piece authored by Ruth Maclean and Ismail Auwal’s published by the New York Times on June 11th.
In a piece published on New York Times yesterday responding to the allegations raised by the authors, Onanuga dismissed the publication titled
‘Nigeria Confronts its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation’, as reflecting the typical predetermined, reductionist, derogatory, and denigrating way foreign media establishments reported African countries for several decades.
The publication had alleged that the twin policies of subsidy removal and floating of the Naira had brought untold hardship to the citizens considering the current cost of living in the country.
Onanuga in defence of President Bola Tinubu’s forex policy said, “After some months of the storm, with the naira sliding as low as N1,900 to the US dollar, some stability is being restored, though there remain some challenges.
“The exchange rate is now below N1500 to the dollar, and there are prospects that the naira could regain its muscle and appreciate to between N1000 and N1200 before the end of the year.”
Commenting generally on the economy, he said “The economy recorded a trade surplus of N6.52 trillion in Q1, as against a deficit of N1.4 trillion in Q4 of 2023.
Portfolio investors have streamed in as long-term investors. When Diageo wanted to sell its stake in Guinness Nigeria, it had the Singaporean conglomerate, Tolaram, ready for the uptake.
“With the World Bank extending a $2.25 billion loan and other loans by the AfDB and Afreximbank coming in, Nigeria has become bankable again.
“This is all because the reforms being implemented have restored some confidence. The inflationary rate is slowing down, as shown in the figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics for April.”
Commenting on Food inflation, he said “Food inflation remains the biggest challenge, and the government is working very hard to rein it in with increased agricultural production.
“The Tinubu administration and the 36 states are working assiduously to produce food in abundance to reduce the cost. Some state governments, such as Lagos and Akwa Ibom, have set up retail shops to sell raw food items to residents at a lower price than the market price.
“The Tinubu government, in November last year, in consonance with its food emergency declaration, invested heavily in dry-season farming, giving farmers incentives to produce wheat, maize, and rice.
“The CBN has donated N100 billion worth of fertiliser to farmers, and numerous incentives are being implemented. In the western part of Nigeria, the six governors have announced plans to invest massively in agriculture.
With all the plans being executed, inflation, especially food inflation, will soon be tamed.”
Onanuga however stressed the universality of the rising cost of living by saying “Nigeria is not the only country in the world facing a rising cost of living crisis.
“The USA, too, is contending with a similar crisis, with families finding it hard to make ends meet. US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen raised this concern recently. Europe is similarly in the throes of a cost-of-living crisis.
“As those countries are trying to confront the problem, the Tinubu administration is also working hard to overturn the economic problems in Nigeria.”
“Our country faced economic difficulties in the past, an experience that has been captured in folk songs. Just like we overcame then, we shall overcome our present difficulties very soon,” he assured.
New Telegraph
