President Bola Tinubu has defended his administration’s handling of the naira, insisting that the currency would have suffered a complete collapse in value if his government had failed to introduce reforms in the foreign exchange market.
The President made the remarks on Friday during the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign rally in Akwa Ibom State, where he responded to growing criticism over the naira’s depreciation against the United States dollar. Tinubu maintained that the government’s decision to reform the foreign exchange system helped prevent a more severe crisis.
“If we didn’t take a decision on the day I took over, we would be using wheelbarrow to move our naira because it would have been valueless.
“You’re talking of N1,300 to a dollar. Huh, huh, it still has pocketable value. If we had left it, it would have been a wheelbarrow when you go to the tomato market,” the President said.
Tinubu’s comments come against the backdrop of the foreign exchange reforms introduced in June 2023, shortly after he assumed office. One of the major policy decisions was the unification of Nigeria’s multiple exchange rate windows, an initiative designed to streamline the foreign exchange market, improve transparency and reduce the disparity between official and parallel market rates.
However, the policy was followed by a significant decline in the naira’s value, with the exchange rate moving from approximately N750 per dollar to nearly N1,900 at its weakest point. The currency subsequently recorded some recovery, trading at around N1,300 to the dollar, a figure Tinubu referenced while defending his administration’s economic policies.
