After months of insisting that he had no plans to devalue the naira, President Muhammadu Buhari has caved to pressure to change course; SaharaReporters has learned from an exclusive briefing by a few top aides of the president.

After months of insisting that he had no plans to devalue the naira, President Muhammadu Buhari has caved to pressure to change course; SaharaReporters has learned from an exclusive briefing by a few top aides of the president.

A day after the Buhari administration increased the price of the pump price of fuel by 67%, from N86.5 to N145 a liter, our sources disclosed that Mr. Buhari has also agreed to demands by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that he significantly devalues the Nigerian currency. Our sources indicated that the naira would be pegged at N290 to one dollar. The current official rate is about N200 to a dollar.

Our sources said Mr. Buhari and his economic team took the decision to accept the IMF’s terms for funds that the Nigerian government wants to access to bridge a critical shortfall in revenue occasioned by a drastic decline in oil revenues. An administration insider told SaharaReporters that Nigeria could receive as much as $3 billion in credit facilities from the IMF.

“The truth is that Nigeria cannot operate without sourcing credit from the IMF,” said one of our sources, an economic adviser to Mr. Buhari, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “And the IMF was adamant that we must devalue before they can discuss extending credit to us,” he added.


Curiously, administration officials took the decision to devalue the naira without the input of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, another source revealed. An official of the CBN confirmed to Saharareporters that bank executives were kept in the dark about the discussions that led to the Buhari administration’s decision to devalue the naira. “Some of us here [the CBN] are not opposed to devaluation, given our country’s present circumstances,” the source said, adding that it was the CBN’s function to pilot Nigeria’s monetary policies.

One of our sources pointed to the fact that the naira has been weakened in the parallel market, where it now sells at N360 per dollar. “The government cannot continue to operate under the illusion that the naira is stronger than it is. The only problem is that we did not start early enough to admit to Nigerians how bad the financial outlook was,” the source added.

The Nigerian economy has been pummeled by falling oil earnings that have led to a near collapse of the economy. The IMF had long indicated its readiness to support Nigeria’s economy with credit liquidity but insisted on Nigeria devaluing its currency. President Buhari had insisted on numerous occasions, before and after his election, that he would never devalue the naira.

It is unclear how Mr. Buhari and members of his economic team plan to justify the about-turn on devaluation and other policy somersaults. After initially vowing to reduce the price of fuel, the government yesterday announced a significant hike in fuel price. The administration also set to announce a 10% increase in value-added tax (VAT), another indication that the Buhari government was embracing the kind of liberalization pushed by the IMF.

To compound dwindling oil prices, militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region have crippled oil exports substantially after bombing oil pipelines and issuing threats to oil companies to leave the region.

Last week, several oil companies evacuated essential staff from the region’s offshore platform leading to a reduction in daily oil outputs from 2.2 million barrels a day to 1.3 million barrels a day.


http://saharareporters.com/2016/05/13/buhari-bows-imf-pressure-devalue-naira-290-dollar

Too bad

Goodnews anything to frustrate Buhari is welcome...yarn i-m based in Europe so that one no concern me ..i will do and send my mum some money next week jare make this suffering no touch her

Good, more wailers form available for newbies[b], zombies that got their brain reformatted by hunger are welcome

THE MONKEY KING

Too bad the magic monkey didn't serve the public as he madly flaunted heroics in days of yore.

With a cheating heart he made havoc In the gathering of immortals;

With grandiose gall he went for his ego
To the heaven of happiness.

Among a hundred thousand troops,
None could oppose him;

In the highest heavens above
He had a threatening presence.

But since he was stymied on meeting our Buddha,

When will he ever reach out and show his achievement again?

-Journey to the west (Hsi-yu chi/Xiyou ji)

To equal dollar










long live

This is the right policy given that rationing of Forex to persons in the good book of this administration has been the worst form of corruption after Abacha's loot.

Let every company and business compete on equal footings.

Mr integrity has done it again just barely 24hrs he did the former (subsidy obliteration)....This government is a joke who couldn't adhere steadfastly on what he believes in notwithstanding external forces/pressures.....this is one of the advises he opposed before claiming mr. uprightness and now has turned back to honour it.....then I ask, is it what we call "integrity"

.

Sigh. It's no secret. Try sending money through money gram . That's been the rate

hmmn

Ipobdevil:
Goodnews anything to frustrate Buhari is welcome...yarn i-m based in Europe so that one no concern me ..i will do and send my mum some money next week jare make this suffering no touch her

You dey Europe and your mama dey soak akkamu for 9ja

Hahahahahahaha All Promises Cancelled Kikikiki

Is this not the same people that were spitting blood that they will never devalue the naira? And someone will still address Buhari as a man of integrity. This Government keeps on disgracing itself. One step forward, several steps backward.

Watch out as all those people that were defending the Presidency's stand on devaluation begin to make excuses and explain to us why this is the best decision ever made!

ok

hahahhahahahahahahahahhaha waiting for zombies to say dis is d best policy by buari since assumption of office.
buari go do dis today, change am tomorow. say one tin today, deny am tomorow. implement dis today, rearange am tomorow. abeg wetin be dis
anyway, ones again, wailers united n imf have been vindicated. only a madman like buari go talk say him no go devalue an already devalued naira. so much for ''I will make N1 ekual to $1''.
clearly buari dullard na comfirm economic illitrate. na so d guy just dey experiment on 170 million nigerians with ancient daura fura danono economics. na so him just dey flip-flop forward n backward with failed policies for petroluem sector.
imagine after all d hardship n suffering him impose on pipul n students abroad cos of him refusal to devalue d naira, na now him wan devalue naira wen d damage has already been don
devaluation wey him suppose do since last year yeye duara govt.
where dem chronic zombies wey talk say nigeria no need imf loan una dey see wetin dey happen una messiah wan devalue naira make him access $3 billion loan. d same amount wey dem efcc talk say dem recover in 6months! upon billions n billions dem talk say bauri recover 1 year ago, i no understand why buari no wan use d moni implement him over bloated budget. i no get am at all. anoda comfirmation say lies n propaganda na part n parcel of buari govt philosophy.
dis administration no get anitin to offer except trial n error.
when will zombies apologise to IBB for insulting him ova imf

Black market will be 550/600-1$ and things in the market will increase by 1000% ooh Nigeria is finished, lets pray for Nigeria

Democracy gifts as democracy day approaches. It is well with us Nigerians. God will see us through even as we have an insensitive government in place.

drss:
hahahhahahahahahahahahhaha waiting for zombies to say dis is d best policy by buari since assumption of office.
buari go do dis today, change am tomorow. say one tin today, deny am tomorow. implement dis today, rearange am tomorow. abeg wetin be dis
anyway, ones again, wailers united n imf have been vindicated. only a madman like buari go talk say him no go devalue an already devalued naira. so much for ''I will make N1 ekual to $1''.
clearly buari dullard na comfirm economic illitrate. na so d guy just dey experiment on 170 million nigerians with ancient daura fura danono economics. na so him just dey flip-flop forward n backward with failed policies for petroluem sector.
imagine after all d hardship n suffering him impose on pipul n students abroad cos of him refusal to devalue d naira, na now him wan devalue naira wen d damage has already been don
devaluation wey him suppose do since last year yeye duara govt.
where dem chronic zombies wey talk say nigeria no need imf loan una dey see wetin dey happen una messiah wan devalue naira make him access $3 billion loan. d same amount wey dem efcc talk say dem recover in 6months! upon billions n billions dem talk say bauri recover 1 year ago, i no understand why buari no wan use d moni implement him over bloated budget. i no get am at all. anoda comfirmation say lies n propaganda na part n parcel of buari govt philosophy.
dis administration no get anitin to offer except trial n error.
when will zombies apologise to IBB for insulting him ova imf

Lol....Clowns they don hide finish.