Nigeria News
Tinubu Seriously Goofed With Fuel, Forex Subsidies Removal – Moghalu
A former presidential candidate, Kingsley Moghalu, has said President Bola Tinubu failed to manage the removal of the petrol and forex subsidies that triggered a wave of economic hardship in the country.
The former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) said the government introduced the policies without thoroughly preparing for the effects on the citizens.
He stated this during his keynote speech at the ‘Leadership Newspaper Group 2024 Conference and Awards,’ which was held in Abuja on Tuesday.
The political economist said the recent economic reforms of the federal government were, however, in order to address the present economic challenges.
Moghalu also stated that the decisions to remove the petrol subsidy and forex subsidy were bold and correct but badly managed.
He said, “Nigerians should first have been educated on the economics of why these subsidies had to go, and on what steps the government was taking to mitigate the anticipated impact; that is, with a subsidised mass transportation system across the country.
“The forex reforms at the central bank should have benefitted from prior, in-depth consultations with institutional investors who are the movers of global capital and in the absence of robust revenues from oil, influence forex liquidity through capital importation.”
Moghalu posited that the exchange rate unification and further efforts to “float” the naira in an environment awash with naira liquidity were mistakes.
He said the decision contributed to the naira’s race to the bottom because it was not accompanied or preceded by an immediate monetary tightening