Tinubu: Naira Would Have Lost All Value Without Changes

President Bola Tinubu has defended how the naira is doing under his government.

Tinubu said the currency would have lost almost all its value without his administration’s changes to foreign exchange.

He spoke on Friday at the All Progressives Congress presidential campaign rally in Akwa Ibom State. He also dismissed the criticism about the naira dropping in value against the US dollar.

He said the naira, which is now exchanging for about N1,300 to a dollar, is still valuable. He argued that things could have been worse without the decision to merge the different exchange rates in Nigeria.

“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 announced the merging of Nigeria’s many foreign exchange rates in June 2023 after he took office.

This policy was part of his government’s plan to change the foreign exchange market and close the gap between the official rates and those on the parallel market.

After the changes, the naira dropped sharply from around N750 to the dollar to about N1,900. It later improved to roughly N1,300, according to Tinubu.