Television Nigerian

The administration claims that a managed Naira floating to stop additional devaluation would only bring Nigeria back to the financial system headed by the troubled former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

It claimed that the strategy, which saw monthly expenditures of roughly $1.5 billion to support the Naira, encouraged financial malpractices like arbitrage that were detrimental to the economy.

Declared in a statement he signed on Sunday, “Once again, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar got it wrong,” is the claim made by Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Advisor to the President on Information and Strategy.

In response to Atiku Abubakar, the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 elections and a former vice president, Onanuga stated that Tinubu’s economic policies—particularly the unification of the exchange rate—were rushed into action without sufficient planning or stakeholder consultation.

Nigerians are suffering as a result of the Naira’s collateral instability brought on by President Tinubu’s economic reforms over the last nine months, which have also caused food prices to rise.

The government is being criticized by Atiku, who stated, “The rest of us cannot keep quiet when the government has demonstrated sufficient poverty of ideas to redeem the situation.” The wrong policies of the Tinubu administration continue to cause untold pain and distress on the economy.

In his view, implementing a floating exchange rate system would be excessive given Nigeria’s fundamental economic circumstances. A gradualist approach to foreign exchange management is what we would have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria to take. An option that was managed-floating would have been better.

The CBN will intervene to regulate and stabilize the value of the Naira, according to Atiku, even though it may fluctuate daily under such a system.

He stated, “This kind of control will be used sensibly and responsibly, particularly to stop speculative activities.”

Nevertheless, the Presidency expressed disagreement, stating, “Atiku’s alternative of a controlled floatation of the Naira is similar to the policy of Godwin Emefiele, when arbitrage or round-tripping went on unhindered.” An estimated $1.5 billion was spent each month to shore up the Naira. Tragically, those near the corridors of power were responsible for it.

The president, his vice, and state governors met last Thursday, according to Onanuga, to discuss how to significantly lessen price fluctuations in food supplies rather than currency fluctuations, as Atiku had claimed.

“We expected Alhaji Atiku to praise President Tinubu for maintaining this stance and for not interfering with the business of Central Bank,” he said, citing Tinubu’s appeal to Governors to allow the CBN to operate and his stance against establishing a commodity board.

The assertion made by Atiku that the CBN’s FX management policy was hastily assembled without adequate planning or stakeholder consultation is ludicrous and untrue. It implies that the apex bank is being prevented from implementing a sound FX management policy by Tinubu’s government, which would have addressed matters like boosting liquidity, reducing or controlling demand, addressing FX backlogs, and rate convergence.

Cardoso’s CBN is putting in place a number of policies to stabilize the Naira and put an end to market volatility, he continued, and these are already having some positive effects. This is in contrast to former Vice President Atiku’s assertion.

In Q4 2023, Nigeria recorded a 66.27 percent increase in capital inflow compared to Q3, prior to Cardoso’s arrival at CBN. In Q3, capital inflow was $654.65 million, and it increased to $1.09 billion in Q4, according to figures cited by the Presidency from the National Bureau Statistics.

According to the argument, “Atiku will agree that the rise in capital inflow suggests massive investors’ confidence in Nigeria and the policy direction of the Tinubu administration.”

That is why it stated that Atiku’s proposed controlled Naira float is comparable to Godwin Emefiele’s policy when compared to the options for CBN policy being implemented.

The Obafemi Awolowo University Students’ Union Students Representative Council has denounced the nation’s ongoing economic suffering and instability.

In a statement sent to our correspondent on Sunday from the SRC’s Ile-Ife campus, the federal government was urged to address these issues right away.

Nigerians have been feeling the effects of the country’s harsh economic circumstances, particularly since President Bola Tinubu removed the fuel subsidy upon taking office on May 29, 2023, which caused the price of gasoline to rise from about N200 to over N600.

In addition, the ongoing depreciation of the naira against the US dollar has resulted in inflation in the price of goods and services in the nation, a hardship that many Nigerians bemoan.

President Tinubu ordered the release of 102,000 metric tons of different types of grains from the Strategic Reserve and the Rice Millers Association of Nigeria on February 8, 2024, as a temporary solution to the country’s worsening food crisis and the rising cost of commodities.

The economic hardship, according to the OAU students, “reflects the sheer negligence and incompetence of our leaders,” according to a statement released by the Great IFE SRC’s Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Clerk, and Ganiyu Yusuf, respectively.

It is becoming more and more difficult for the average Nigerian to afford basic necessities as a result of the worrying economic downturn and the exorbitant cost of living, the statement continued.

“Rampant cases of insecurity, including kidnapping and banditry, have reached unprecedented levels, instilling fear and apprehension in the hearts of citizens across the nation,” the statement on insecurity read. It is completely intolerable and is no longer acceptable for the government to put the safety and security of its citizens last.

Additionally, “the government’s neglect of the education sector, evident in insufficient budget allocations and underfunding of tertiary institutions,” was denounced by the student leaders.

There have been an increasing number of insecure incidents across the nation since December 2023, ranging from kidnappings in Abuja, Lagos, Ogun, and the Plateau to killings in that region.

In addition, on Saturday, some bandits reportedly broke into the Igabi communities of Gwada and Kassam as well as the Kauru local government areas of Kaduna, resulting in nine deaths and seven injuries. Numerous people were also taken hostage, including the director of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who is now retired.

The incident was confirmed in an official statement from the state government, which was issued by Samuel Aruwan, the commissioner overseeing internal security and home affairs. However, there was no mention of the individuals who were killed and abducted in the state’s LGAs of Igabi and Kauru.

On Sunday, David Umahi, the Minister of Works, gave the contractor in charge of the Abia section of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Highway, which is presently undergoing rehabilitation, a 14-day notice to terminate the contract due to non-performance.

The notice of termination was ordered by the minister following an inspection of the work progress at Ozuaku after the Imo bridge along the Enugu – Port Harcourt expressway, according to a statement from Olusola Abiola, the director of information.

“After using all due process on construction, the minister of works has just directed a 14-day termination notice to Messrs China Civil Engineering Construction handling the Enugu-Port Harcourt expressway,” the statement stated.

“We will have to give the termination notice after 14 days if they don’t comply with our requests.”

He clarified that subpar work by contractors would no longer be tolerated by the government and warned of the consequences of subpar work.

“Contractors putting blank ranks on site will no longer be tolerated by us. Additionally, they will be raising construction costs by pushing back the project’s completion date.

He revealed, “We at the Ministry of Works have come to an agreement that all non-performing contracts will be terminated and re-awarded using due process in the coming weeks.”

The minister emphasized the need for the Ministry to provide Nigerians with high-quality highways and said, “It is very important to appreciate all the efforts of Mr. President who has been providing funds for our road infrastructure projects; which is very, very good.” A

President Bola Tinubu deserves praise for providing significant resources for our road networks, Umahi continued, adding that “so it’s kudos to Mr. President and it shows that Mr. President is very, very sensitive to our road infrastructure needs.” This administration took over 3,000 road projects when it came to office. Thus, in spite of any blackmail, we must exert every effort to support the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” he declared.

Since taking office, the minister has issued two directives, this most recent one.

In September of last year, he issued an order to immediately halt construction at the Kaiama section of the East-West road in Bayelsa State due to concerns about the contractor’s subpar work.

Umahi expressed his frustration over the situation and claimed that even with N71 billion in funding, the contractor was producing subpar work.

After the contractor handling the project used inferior materials, the minister also ordered the immediate suspension of reconstruction work at the Eleme-Onne section of the East-West Road in Rivers State in January 2024. However, the suspension was later reversed twenty hours later following a meeting with ministry officials and the contractor behind closed doors.

The Federal Government has been urged by the National Association of Academic Technologists to pay the salaries that have been withheld for more than five months.

The Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System Office was instructed to release four months’ worth of salaries from the outstanding salaries owed to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, prior to this development, by the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation.

This does not include other university and other center employees who are members of other unions.

In response, NAAT called for the implementation of the 25% and 35% authorized salary increases with arrears as stated in the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the Federal Government on August 17, 2022, in a statement released on Sunday by its president, Ideji Nwokoma, and general secretary, Abubakar Yusuf.

The Renewed Hope Agenda, which President Bola Tinubu is implementing to revitalize the nation’s economy and educational system, has received praise from NAAT.

Citing the recent N630 billion distribution to universities and other postsecondary institutions, as reported by the TETFund Executive Secretary, they emphasized his dedication to infrastructure and human capital development.

“Noteworthy is the following: at the high-level stakeholders meeting on the modalities of exiting IPPIS that was held on January 11, 2024 at the National Universities Commission Auditorium, one of the main highlights and takeaways was the statement made by Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, SAN, to the effect that all agreements were reached by the Federal Government regarding the payment of withheld salties to all members of university-based unions in federal universities and the implementation of the new salary structure of 25% and 35% salary increases for all workers in educational tertiary institutions, much to the satisfaction of all those in attendance, including vice-chancellors and union leaders.

According to the minister, the current Federal Government is making every effort to prevent industrial unrest in our tertiary educational institutions.

With everything mentioned above in mind, we find it extremely difficult to reconcile the minister’s statement with the Federal Government’s decision to pay the withheld salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities exclusively, leaving other members of our union out.

“We consider this endeavor to be extremely unfair and unjust since it pits our union’s members against the leadership and is generating a tense environment that could completely disrupt academic activities on our campuses.”

According to NAAT, the main reason university sector unions decided to start the strike action in the first place was because the Federal Government had not followed through on its promise to implement agreements reached through collective bargaining.

“We thus fervently implore the minister to consider the predicament of our members and promptly disburse the more than five-monthly withheld salaries, execute the authorized salary hikes of 25% and 35% with arrears, and release the arrears of earned allowances of NAAT members as stipulated in the Memorandum of Understanding signed between NAAT and Federal Government on August 17, 2022.”