Economic hardship: Atiku disagrees with Tinubu, proffers solution

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the last general election, Atiku Abubakar, on Sunday, said President Bola Tinubu has failed to showcase any concrete policy steps his administration is taking to contain the crises of currency fluctuation and poverty that is ravaging the country.

Atiku also claimed that wrong policies of the Tinubu administration have continued to cause untold pain and distress on the economy.

In a statement issued on his X handle on Sunday, Atiku said the Nigerian economy would begin to find a footing again if the government is ready to open itself to sound counsels, as well as control internal bleedings occasioned by corruption and poorly negotiated foreign loans.

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According to him, Tinubu’s new policy FX management policy was hurriedly put together without proper plans and consultations with stakeholders, adding that government downplayed the potential and real negative consequences of its actions.

Speaking further, Atiku accused Tinubu of not allowing the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the independence to design and implement a sound FX Management Policy.

This he suggested would have dealt with such issues as increasing liquidity, curtailing/regulating demand, dealing with FX backlogs and rate convergence.

In the light of the current situation, the former Vice President said he and other Nigerians cannot keep quiet, arguing that the government has demonstrated sufficient poverty of ideas to redeem the situation.

On how the current economic crisis could be resolved, Atiku said: “If the government will not hold on to their usual hubris, there are ways that the country can walk out of the current crisis.”

He continued, “Given Nigeria’s underlying economic conditions, adopting a floating exchange rate system would be an overkill. We would have encouraged the Central Bank of Nigeria to adopt a gradualist approach to FX management. A managed-floating system would have been a preferred option. In simple terms, in such a system, the Naira may fluctuate daily, but the CBN will step in to control and stabilize its value. Such control will be exercised judiciously and responsibly, especially to curve speculative activities.”