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Presidency Replies New York Times Article, Says Tinubu Didn’t Create Current Economic Problems

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Nigeria’s current economic issues, according to the presidency, are not President Bola Tinubu’s fault.

Bayo Onanuga, the president’s special adviser on information and strategy, claimed that Tinubu inherited the country’s economic woes in a statement released on Sunday in response to a New York Times article titled “Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation.”

According to Onanuga, the report mirrored “the conventional predetermined, reductionist, disparaging, and dehumanising way foreign media establishments covered African countries for a number of decades.”

The spokesperson claimed that the publication only highlighted the negative experiences of some Nigerians during the previous year’s inflationary spiral and placed all the blame on Tinubu’s administration’s policies. The publication made no mention of the economy’s positive aspects.

“The report, based on several interviews, is at best jaundiced, all gloom and doom, as it never mentioned the positive aspects of the same economy as well as the ameliorative policies being implemented by the central and state governments,” Onanuga said.

“To be sure, President Tinubu did not create the economic problems Nigeria faces today. He inherited them. As a respected economist in our country once put it, Tinubu inherited a dead economy.

“The economy was bleeding and needed quick surgery to avoid being plunged into the abyss, as happened in Zimbabwe and Venezuela. This was the background to the policy direction taken by the government in May/June 2023: the abrogation of the fuel subsidy regime and the unification of the multiple exchange rates.”

Defending the decision to remove the petrol subsidy, Onanuga said it gulped $84.39 billion between 2005 and 2022 from the public treasury in a country with huge infrastructural deficits and in high need of better social services for its citizens.

He said the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, the sole importer of petrol, had “amassed trillions of naira in debts for absorbing the unsustainable subsidy payments” in its books.

“By the time President Tinubu took over the leadership of the country, there was no provision made for fuel subsidy payments in the national budget beyond June 2023,” the spokesperson said.

“The budget itself had a striking feature: it planned to spend 97 percent of revenue servicing debt, with little left for recurrent or capital expenditure. The previous government had resorted to massive borrowing to cover such costs.”

According to Onanuga, to deal with the cancer of public finance on the first day, Tinubu had to end the subsidy regime and the “generosity that spread to neighbouring countries”.

Onanuga also added that the government was also subsidising the exchange rate as it was with oil in a bid to defend the naira against the “unquenchable demand” for the dollar.

The spokesperson said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) spent an estimated $1.5 billion monthly to defend the local currency against the American greenback.

He said subsidising the exchange rate encouraged arbitrage as the gap between the official and parallel markets’ rates widened, and at the same time, the country was unable to fulfil its remittance obligations to airlines and other foreign businesses.

“Like oil, the exchange rate was also being subsidised by the government, with an estimated $1.5 billion spent monthly by the CBN to ‘defend’ the currency against the unquenchable demand for the dollar by the country’s import-dependent economy,” he said.

“By keeping the rate low, arbitrage grew as a gulf existed between the official rate and the rate being used by over 5000 BDCs that were previously licensed by the Central Bank. What was more, the country was failing to fulfil its remittance obligations to airlines and other foreign businesses, such that FDIs and investment in the oil sector dried up, and notably Emirate Airlines cut off the Nigerian route.”

He said the president’s administration also floated the naira to deal with the cancer of public finance.

However, Onanuga said stability is being restored in the foreign exchange markets since the naira depreciated to an all-time low of N1,900/$, although he acknowledged there are still 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,” added.

He also said the economy recorded a trade surplus of N6.52 trillion in the first quarter (Q1) of 2024, against a deficit of N1.4 trillion in Q4 of 2023.

Highlighting other positives from the reforms within Tinubu’s first year, Onanuga said 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,” the spokesperson said.

“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.”

Onanuga said the inflationary rate is slowing down according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data for April.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

According to the special adviser, with all the plans being executed, inflation, especially food inflation, will soon be tamed.

Onanuga said Nigeria is not the only country in the world facing a rising cost of living crisis, adding that the United States is also experiencing a similar situation, “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,” he said.

Onanuga said Nigeria faced economic difficulties in the past, and just as the country overcame them, the present difficulties will soon be quelled.

BIG STORY

JUST IN: Reps Reject Bill Seeking Single Six-Year Term, Zonal Rotation For President, Governors

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The House of Representatives on Thursday, November 21, rejected a proposed constitutional amendment aimed at instituting a single six-year term for the president, governors, and local government chairmen across the federation.

The bill, sponsored by Ikenga Ugochinyere (PDP, Imo) and 33 co-sponsors, also sought to divide the country into six geopolitical zones and establish a rotational system for the presidency and governorship within these zones.

Additionally, the bill proposed that all elections be conducted on a single day.

It aimed to amend Section 132 of the Constitution by inserting a new subsection (2), deleting the extant subsection (4), and renumbering the entire section accordingly. The proposed amendment would have stipulated that elections to the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria be rotated between the North and South regions every six years.

The bill also sought to amend Section 180 of the Constitution, replacing “four years” with “six years.”

Furthermore, it proposed altering Section 76 by inserting a new subsection (3), which would read: “(3) For the purpose of Section (1) of this section, all elections into the offices of President, Governors, National Assembly, and State Houses of Assembly shall hold simultaneously on the same date to be determined by the Independent National Electoral Commission in consultation with the National Assembly and in accordance with the Electoral Act.”

When the bill, which was scheduled for a second reading, was put to a vote, the majority of lawmakers voted against it. This is not the first time the House has rejected a bill seeking a six-year single term for the president and governors.

In 2019, a similar bill, sponsored by John Dyegh from Benue State, also failed to progress to the second reading.

Dyegh’s bill had also proposed a six-year term for Members of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly. He argued that a six-year term would allow members of the National Assembly to gain more experience, as opposed to the current four-year term.

According to Dyegh, re-election for the president and governors costs three times more than the first election and is often marked by violence. He believes a single term of five years would help curb the irregularities associated with re-election.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar had also proposed a further amendment to the 1999 Constitution and the Electoral Act 2022, advocating for a six-year single term for the president for each of the six geopolitical zones.

He added that the law must mandate electronic voting and the collation of results, and require the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to verify the credentials of candidates, among other reforms.

The governor of Anambra State, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, also backed calls in June this year for a single term for elected politicians.

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BIG STORY

I Appointed Aides On Garden Egg, Yam, Pepper To Boost Food Production — Enugu LG Chairman

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Eric Odo, chairman of Igbo Etiti LGA in Enugu state, has defended the appointment of aides for yam, pepper, and garden egg.

On Tuesday, Odo announced the appointments of Ezeugwu Ogbonna as senior special assistant on agriculture (yam and pepper) and Nwodo Ugonna as special adviser on garden egg and pepper.

The appointments attracted criticism from many Nigerians, who viewed the positions as an anomaly.

In his defense on Wednesday, Odo explained that the appointments were designed to increase the production of these crops in large quantities, aiming to meet local demands and support export.

The chairman emphasized that the Igbo-Etiti area is particularly well-suited to cultivating these crops and holds a significant comparative advantage.

“Their appointments are to ensure that local farmers receive adequate attention, needed resources, support, and expertise to enhance production, improve market access, and increase income for farmers,” NAN quoted Odo as saying.

“In essence, the appointment, which is wrongly misunderstood by disgruntled individuals, bad losers, and opposition, reinforces my determination to create a thriving local economy based on the strengths and potentials of Igbo-Etiti’s agricultural landscape.”

Odo explained that the decision was part of a carefully considered plan aimed at boosting productivity, creating jobs, and improving the livelihoods of farmers within the LGA’s communities.

He called on the public to disregard any online or offline comments intended to discredit the appointments, asserting that the council is committed to massive food production and sustainable development.

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BIG STORY

JUST IN: Simon Ekpa, Four Others Arrested In Finland Over Terror-Related Activities

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Finnish-Nigerian separatist agitator, Simon Ekpa, and four other individuals have been arrested in Finland over terror-related activities.

A local report in Finland stated that Ekpa, the self-declared “Prime Minister of Biafra Republic Government In-Exile,” was remanded in custody by the district court of Päijät-Häme on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.

In a Thursday statement published on its website, the Central Criminal Police in Finland said it had arrested five people on suspicion of terrorist crimes.

The police said the main suspect was arrested “on suspicion of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent,” while four others were arrested “for financing a terrorist crime.”

The police added: “Claims will be heard in Päijät-Häme district court today, November 21.”

The statement reads: “The detention demands are related to the preliminary investigation, in which a Finnish citizen of Nigerian background, born in the 1980s, is suspected of public incitement to commit a crime with terrorist intent.”

“The police suspect that the man has promoted his efforts from Finland by means that have led to violence against civilians and authorities as well as other crimes in the region of South-Eastern Nigeria.”

The statement quoted the head of the investigation, Crime Commissioner Otto Hiltunen from the Central Crime Police, as saying that “the man has carried out this activity, among other things, on his social media channels.

“Four other persons are suspected of financing the aforementioned activity. All five suspects of the crime have been arrested during the beginning of the week.”

“International cooperation has been carried out during the preliminary investigation,” the statement added.

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