President Bola Tinubu has reassured the investment community in Nigeria that there is an ongoing plan to boost the country’s foreign exchange (Forex) liquidity.
The President represented by Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, speaking at the 29th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja on Monday, acknowledged the challenges faced by the business community in the financial markets and assured them of additional foreign exchange liquidity to restore market confidence.
However, he said that the country was expecting about $10bn inflows in the nearest term, which would help to clear foreign exchange (forex) backlog and stabilise the naira.
Tinubu also emphasized his administration’s commitment to strengthening governance by establishing a performance and result-oriented public and civil service culture and structure.
The President outlined the eight priority items of his administration to include ending poverty, achieving food security, economic growth and job creation, access to capital, inclusivity, security, fairness and rule of law, and anti-corruption.
He mentioned several measures introduced by his government to resuscitate the economy, such as the N5bn intervention to support small businesses and the agriculture sector, and also announced upcoming initiatives, including a new student loan programme and consumer credit schemes.
Private sector support
Tinubu called on the private sector to support his vision for a greater Nigeria and urged them to bring their ideas, leadership, capital, and collective will to build a future of renewed hope.
He emphasized the importance of a collaborative relationship between the government and the private sector, citing the success of public-private partnerships in transforming Lagos State.
The President expressed his readiness to deliver on his promises to Nigerians and called on the private sector to join him in this endeavor.
On clearing the Forex backlog which has drained investor confidence, the president said, “All foreign exchange future contracts will be honoured by this government.”
“I assure you we have a line of sight to the foreign exchange we need to refloat this economy. And we will get it,” He added.
In his remarks, the chairman of the National Economic Summit Group, Mr Niyi Yusuf said that with more than 133 million multidimensionally poor Nigerians, there are potentially more risks of stagnation and distress if a low-growth and low-investment era persists.
He also said that the low access to and increasing cost of foreign exchange, high cost of inventory, imported inputs, and operations, coupled with the diversity of taxes, continue to erode business balance sheets, with resultant contraction in production and employment.
He noted that the country stands at a critical point in its history, and the people’s challenges demand immediate, concerted efforts while noting the need for the parties involved to act immediately with a shared sense of urgency.
Yusuf explained that the nation needs a macroeconomic stabilisation programme supported by an aggressively scaled national security effort to halt all forms of syndicated and organised crime around crude oil and solid minerals and also a made-in-Nigeria agenda.
There is also a need for urgent investment and a national job creation plan that drives the creation of a huge volume of high-quality jobs, among other reforms.
He said, “This year’s summit has been calibrated as a burning platform to answer the question of the essential pillars of economic transformation that would get us to the future envisaged by the government.
“The need for urgent strategic shifts that impact the ease and cost of doing business within a relatively short period is a matter of existential threat to the survival of enterprises and entrepreneurs.
“The low access to and increasing cost of Forex, high cost of inventory, imported inputs, and operations, coupled with the diversity of taxes, continue to erode business balance sheets, with resultant contraction in production and employment, which the conference will have discourse on to address.”
Yusuf added that large firms are battling low-capacity utilisation, while medium, small, and micro-enterprises grapple with multidimensional complexities. These poor economic outcomes have created worsening social conditions that cannot be taken for granted, he added.
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