On Friday, President Bola Tinubu advised Nigerians to buy products and services that are made in Nigeria in order to maintain the recent improvement of the naira in the foreign exchange market.
He mentioned that the recent increase in the value of the naira against the dollar does not mean complete success yet.
Therefore, he requested more cooperation from citizens, asking them to report individuals involved in activities that undermine the local currency.
During a State House briefing on Friday, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, shared Tinubu’s message with journalists.
Since taking office 10 months ago, the Tinubu administration has stopped subsidizing petrol, stating that it would save government funds for infrastructure development.
It also unified the foreign exchange rates to reduce currency exploitation, but these actions caused instability in the value of the Naira and led to increased hardship for Nigerians due to rising food prices.
In February 2024, one USD was equivalent to N1,900 in the black market. Recently, the Naira has been steadily strengthening against the US dollar, with an exchange rate of N1,382/$ in the official market on Thursday.
Ngelale argued that a stronger naira is important for working citizens as it would support the new minimum wage once it is implemented.
He stated, “I am confident that Nigerians have observed the improvement of the Nigerian Naira against the United States Dollar. This is clearly the direction we all wanted to go, and we are fully aware that this is not the time to relax or celebrate.
“This is why His Excellency President Bola Tinubu has authorized a series of measures to ensure a significant strengthening of the Nigerian Naira against all other global currencies.
“Firstly, President Bola Tinubu wants to clearly convey to our people that there has never been a more crucial time in our history to actively agree to support and buy products made in Nigeria across all sectors and value chains.
“We need to be deliberate about this issue, and we want a robust currency. We want the purchasing power of our people to increase. We want every Naira and kobo we earn to be more valuable, not only here but also when we travel abroad. The way to achieve this is by doing exactly this.”
He mentioned that the strengthening of the Naira was a result of collaboration with the Central Bank and other government agencies to “firmly address fraudulent activities on specific crypto-currency trading platforms within the parallel market of the foreign exchange system.”
In addition to these efforts, Tinubu is urging Nigerians to report any of these deceptive practices and communicate with the relevant agencies to address these issues directly.
They must understand that “this is not a government versus malicious actors’ issue. This is an issue of the Federal Republic of Nigeria versus malicious actors’, and the actions of these actors have a negative impact on everyone.”
He said that all of us need to agree to work together to address these issues.
Ngelale, who mentioned that the negotiations for the minimum wage are ongoing, cautioned that the efforts would be pointless if we do not control the value of our currency.
He pointed out that while the government is working towards a new minimum wage that states can afford, they also want it to be sustainable over the years based on the long-term stability they aim to achieve for the Nigerian Naira through their current interventions.
Meanwhile, Ngelale explained that the government expects to save N5 billion every quarter by enforcing a strict three-month ban on all publicly-funded foreign trips for ministers, heads of government agencies, and other officials.
In a letter dated March 2, 2024, from the Office of the President’s Chief of Staff, Tinubu imposed a three-month ban on all official foreign trips for heads of ministries, departments, and agencies beginning April 1, 2024.
The letter explained that the aim is to reduce the rising expenses incurred by ministries, departments, and agencies on international travel and ensure that cabinet members and heads of MDAs focus on their respective mandates for effective service delivery.
The Presidential Spokesman said, 'With the temporary ban being put in place from April 1 on all but unnecessary foreign travel, we’re 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 mentioned recent reviews of the pay structure of judicial officers to ensure internationally competitive remuneration.
Ngelale said this is crucial for the country as it can significantly reduce the impact of corruption on the judiciary and build trust in the judicial system for both Nigerians seeking justice and businesses investing in Nigeria.
To support the government's recovery program, the Presidential aide mentioned various measures Tinubu introduced to mitigate the harsh economic realities, indicating that the programs are about to be implemented.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is going to ensure that our micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises in the country have what they need to get through this difficult period.
“This is why he has approved the Presidential conditional grant scheme in which over 1 million Nigerian businesses will be empowered with conditional grants; this is money they will not have to pay back of up to N50,000 per nano enterprise, with over 1 million Nano enterprises being selected and granted these funds within every local government area of the Federation,” he explained.
He also said that more than N150bn is being given out from the Bank of Industry and Small and Medium Enterprise Development Agency while also approved is the low interest rate loans of up to N2m to hundreds of 1000s of small and medium scale enterprises across all local government areas of the Federation.
Ngelale also said that Tinubu is giving priority to providing N75bn to 75 industries and manufacturing companies with a staff strength of over 1000 workers to ensure necessary support is given to such firms, thereby expanding their hiring strength.
“We want to ensure that those industries and sectors that are massively employing our people are those industries that are given top consideration for government intervention, which is why the President has approved over N75bn to be given to 75 large-scale manufacturers across all states of the Federation.
“These will be manufacturers who employ over 1000 Nigerians in each of their facilities and industries. We are going to ensure that they have the support that they need on a large scale so that Nigerian families who rely on these large-scale businesses are protected.
“We want to see our large-scale industries not just refuse to fire people but actively increase and expand their hiring at this difficult time,” he added.
