THE Presidency has tackled the New York Times over its report on the current economic situation in Nigeria, saying that President Bola Tinubu on May 29, 2023, inherited a dead economy.

The Presidency also justified some of the policy decisions taken by the Tinubu’s administration like floating of the naira and fuel subsidy removal, declaring that the policies were taken in the best interest of the country.

A statement entitled, “Rejoinder to New York Times jaundiced report on Nigeria’s current economic situation”, issued on Sunday, by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the Presidency said Nigeria is not the only country in the world facing a rising cost of living crisis.

The statement read: “Ruth Maclean and Ismail Auwal’s feature story with the title ‘Nigeria Confronts Its Worst Economic Crisis in a Generation’, published on June 11, reflected the typical predetermined, reductionist, derogatory, and denigrating way foreign media establishments reported African countries for several decades.

“Because of the misleading slant of the report, we need to clear up some misconceptions conveyed by the reporters as regards the economic policies of the Tinubu administration that came into power at the end of May 2023.

“Most significant about the report was that it painted the dire experiences of some Nigerians amid the inflationary spiral of the last year and blamed it all on the policies of the new administration.

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

The Presidency said that as at the time Tinubu took over the reign of government, the nation’s economy was bleeding and needed urgent measures to bring it back.

It 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.

“For decades, Nigeria had maintained a fuel subsidy regime that 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.

“The state oil firm, NNPC, the sole importer, 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 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.

“Like oil, the exchange rate was also being subsidized 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.

“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 F

DIs and investment in the oil sector dried up, and notably Emirate Airlines cut off the Nigerian route.

“President Tinubu had to deal with the cancer of public finance on the first day by rolling back the subsidy regime and the generosity that spread to neighbouring countries. Then, his administration floated the naira.”

Although, it acknowledged that the exchange rate got to its worst level, it contended that it’s gradually regaining some level of stability.

The Presidency 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.

“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. 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.”

The Presidency noted that with all the plans being executed, inflation, especially food inflation, will soon be tamed.

It said, “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.”

Source:https://www.vanguardngr.com/2024/06/presidency-tackles-new-york-times-says-tinubu-inherited-dead-economy/

..I don't know why Thief'nubu is now attacking New York Times..

..you went to the US with charge and Ball lawyers to claim rhat exposing your fake certificate will cause you irreparable damage..

....you claimed you are a graduate of Accountancy..the builder of Lagos and the detector of technocrats..

..you cried, wailed, shouted emilokan, spoke garangaja languages only to snatch grab and run away with Nigeria's mandate..

..stolen mandate has now entered your hands..but behold...you are now blaming the past maladministration of your fellow Apcshit ruga failure Poo'hari after snatching and grabbing..

...wlahi talahi Allah will punish you..after you don explain tire..

Dr BAT...

you completely ruin the economy, stop looking for excuses or whom to blame, you wickedly removed the subsidy which's the only thing common man ever benefited from the Nigerian government , without plans to cushion the effect or the impact on them.

Please is there an end to this economic crunch if one may ask

It wasn't neccessary.

APC handed over a dead economy to APC

Nigeria we hail thee

Only delusional BATerians still argue that Escobar hasn't destroyed Nigeria's economy yet.

Tinubu: I wil continue where Buhari stopped
Buhari: Support Tinubu he will progress Nigeria
Presidency: Tinubu inherited poor economy from Buhar.
Deluded BATerians: Peter Obi is the problem.
Me: All of una dey mad

What a Bala blu?

APC was a calamitous mistake

Yes Tinubu's APC herited a dead economy from Buhari's APC .Even if we pretend we don't know the common factor which is APC,we can't pretend we don't know who has cremated the carcass of the dead economy.

A dead economy, but Tinubu decided to bury it in a 60ft grave without medical confirmation.

Why did he rig the election in first place, when he knows the economy was dead?

After GEJ APC Ve' been inheriting dead economy
It's normal
Person Wei say e build Lagos don scatter Nigeria

Inherited dead economy from where exactly. Someone should tell this fellow what it means to be an internationally journalist .

Inherited a dead economy but you are building coastal highway instead of reviving power sector

Apc inherited dead economy from apc