The Nigeria Patriotic Quest has absolved the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, of the blame of the decline value of the naira in recent years, attributing it to oil theft, pipeline vandalization, global economic challenges and other factors.
The coordinator of the group, Ahmed Ja’Usman Tijani in a statement made available to the Nigerian Tribune on Sunday said it is wrong on the part of some politicians and their agents to blame the present value of naira at the International market on Emefiele.
Tijani noted that since well-meaning Nigerians and non-political groups cum organisations have started mounting pressure on Emefiele to contest the presidential election in 2023, some political elements in the country have been feeling uncomfortable noting his pedigree and achievements as financial expert, hence the campaign of calumny against him.
He stated that whoever is blaming Emefiele for the dwindling economic fortune of the Country has lost touch with the global economic challenges and its effect on the country.
The coordinator who described the authors and writers of various articles and commentaries against Emefiele as political propagandists noted that between 2015 and 2020 the decline in the price of crude oil on the international market dealt a severe blow on the nation’s economy.
He added that the situation was made worse with the nation’s mono economic policy which leaves the nation at the receiving end.
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‘We are an import-dependent economy, as we import most of our major consumer and industrial goods including food, toiletries, textiles, cars, machineries etc. This resulted in very high demand for dollars in the face of ever-dwindling forex inflows. Of course, this also impacted the value of the Naira negatively.
He argued further that the persistent and drastic drop in the price of crude oil starting from 2015 up till the end of 2020 dealt a severe blow on the Country as a mono-product export economy, crude oil suffered a decline in price at the International market.
It will be recalled that by end of March 2020, Nigeria’s Brent crude was averaging $25 per barrel with Bonny Light even doing worse at $21 per barrel. We should not forget, that it was at this time that several cargoes of Nigerian crude oil were sailing the high seas with no takers.
‘We should further, bear in mind that this was at the time when Russia and Saudi Arabia were engaged in the mutually destructive oil price war that wreaked havoc on the economy of most oil-producing nations, especially Nigeria. This situation affected the inflow of dollars into the economy and as can be expected led to the drop in the value of the Naira, due to a surfeit of Naira pursuing very scarce dollars. To put this in stark relief, the nation’s foreign reserves plunged from a high of $47 billion in 2012 to about $33 billion dollars in 2020’
Highlighting other factors militating against the value of naira, the coordinator disclosed that Covid 19 pandemic dealt a heavy blow on the economy, as a result of the lockdown of most areas of national life and the resultant negative impact on productivity and employment.
.The coordinator stated that Emefiele deserves accolades rather than condemnation for his various policies that are aimed at revamping the economic situation in the country.
The way and manner Emefiele has managed to combine the traditional duties of the CBN with interventions in the major sectors of the economy are the reasons for our unflinching support for him to contest the presidency of Nigeria in 2023.
We are staunch believers in his capacity, given the impact he has made in diverse areas of the economy.
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