Tinubu tasks Nigerians to buy made-in-Nigeria goods to sustain naira gains • Asks Citizens To Raise Alarm On Currency Manipulators • FG To Save N5bn With Ban On Foreign Trips President Bola Tinubu has tasked Nigerians to intentionally patronise made-in-Nigeria products and services so as to sustain the unfolding positive showings of the naira at the foreign exchange markets.Tinubu, who noted that the fair development around naira’s exchange value does not call for celebration yet, but more work and efforts to sustain the gains, also charged citizens to blow the whistle and expose those who engage in currency sharp practices.Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who delivered President Tinubu’s message while briefing newsmen at the State House, yesterday, further said that part of the reasons for the administration to actualise a strong naira is to make life easy for working Nigerians, especially when the new minimum wage comes into effect.Recall that the exchange rate of the naira to other international currencies had steadily slid into a weak position since the government introduced a policy to float the currency last year in an attempt to curb currency arbitrage.
However, the currency maintained a steady appreciation against the United States dollar on Thursday, gaining N18 to close 1,382/$ at the official market.
Ngelale said: “I’m certain that everyone seated here and indeed Nigerians at large have witnessed the seismic shifts that have taken place within the nation’s foreign exchange market over the course of the last several days and the strengthening of the Nigerian naira against the United States dollar.“This is clearly the direction all of us have wanted to head and we are very sober to the fact that this is no time to rest or to clap; this is a time to deepen our efforts to dig in and to work harder, which is why His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has approved a series of interventions to ensure that we see a mass strengthening of the Nigerian naira against all other global currencies.“One, President Bola Tinubu, wants to communicate very clearly to our people that there has never been a more important time in our history to actively agree together that we will patronise and purchase made in Nigeria products across all value chains, across all sectors.
“There is an intentionality that we must have on this issue that we want a strong currency; we want the spending power of our people to go up.We want every naira and kobo we earn to be more valuable, not just here, but when we travel abroad.The way to achieve that is by doing just this.“In addition to that, His Excellency, Mr.
President, beyond the appeal to Nigerians to actively and intentionally make that decision every day to patronise made-in-Nigeria products and services across the board, is also wanting to ensure that Nigerians fully understand that the momentum that we are now seeing, with respect to the strengthening of our currency, is not going to slow down.“The efforts that Mr.President has put in place, in collaboration with other agencies of government, as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in dealing decisively with sharp practices on certain crypto-currency trading platforms, dealing decisively with sharp practices within the parallel market of the foreign exchange ecosystem, that these things are now yielding fruit.“What we now need to see is an active effort on the part of our people to blow the whistle wherever they see any of these sharp practices taking place; to communicate with the agencies that deal with these issues directly and understanding that this is not a government versus malign actors issue.” This is a Federal Republic of Nigeria versus malign actors issue and the activities of these actors negatively impact everybody seated in this room and everybody watching this broadcast and all Nigerians, both at home and abroad.
So all of us have to take up the mantle and agree that we will collaborate together to deal with these issues.” He explained that the administration is working hard to bring a sustainable strength to the currency ahead of the new minimum wage, which is being negotiated.“If we do not get a firm grip on the value of our currency and it continues to be a volatile, devaluing asset, then whatever we do with the national minimum wage is going to essentially become a moot point, nullity.And so we are focused on ensuring that yes, we arrive at a new minimum wage that states can afford and that will deal with all of the needs of Nigerian families across the country.“But we also want to ensure that we peg it at something that is sustainable over a number of years based on the long term,” Ngelale added.
The presidential spokesman revealed that the Federal Government expects to save N5 billion quarterly by imposing a strict three-month ban on all foreign trips funded by public money for ministers, heads of government agencies and other officials.Recall that in a major cost-cutting move, the President had imposed a strict three-month ban on all foreign trips funded by public money for ministers, heads of government agencies and other officials.The ban, which takes effect from April 1, 2024, is aimed at reducing the rising expenses incurred by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on international travel and ensuring that cabinet members and heads of MDAs focus on their respective mandates for effective service delivery.“So, the President is doing everything he can to ensure that he steps in to ease the burden on families while also ensuring that he holds the public sector and the Federal Government of Nigeria accountable to prudent spending, ensuring that we cut down drastically on travel expenditures, ensuring that with the temporary ban that is being put in place from April 1 on all unnecessary foreign travel, we are expecting to save over N5 billion per quarter.
“This is going to be one out of several initiatives the President is taking to ensure that we reduce waste in the public sector in such a way that we can actually steer these very needed recurrent resources into the hands of those who are doing important work on behalf of the Nigerian people,” he added.
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