He called on Nigerians to support the initiative by patronising locally produced goods to further strengthen the value of the Naira and reduce hardship in the country.
Tinubu spoke through his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, who addressed journalists at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, on Friday.
According to the Presidency, there is already a noticeable measure being taken by the regulatory body to firm up the nation’s currency, which has started to yield results.
Speaking further on the Federal Government’s resolve to put the suffering of the masses to an end, Ngelale said the Tinubu administration wants to ensure that those industries and sectors that are massively employing people would be prioritized with respect to government intervention.
Ngelale said the plan has culminated in the approval of over N75 billion to be disbursed to 75 large-scale manufacturers across all states of the federation.
He said a larger chunk of the interventions would go to manufacturers who employ over 1,000 Nigerians in each of their facilities and industries.
According to him, the objective is to see that large-scale industries do not just refuse to fire people but actively increase and expand their hiring.
Ngelale said, “I’m certain that everyone seated here and indeed Nigerians at large have witnessed the seismic shifts that have taken place within the nation’s foreign exchange market over the last several days and the strengthening of the Nigerian naira against the United States dollar.
“This is clearly the direction all of us have wanted to head. And we are very sober to the fact that this is no time to rest or to clap. This is a time to deepen our efforts to dig in and to work harder, which is why His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has approved a series of interventions to ensure that we see a mass strengthening of the Nigerian Naira against all other global currencies.
“One, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu wants to communicate very clearly to our people, that there has never been a more important time in our history to actively agree together that we will patronize and purchase made-in-Nigeria products across all value chains across all sectors.
“There is an intentionality that we must have on this issue that we want a strong currency, we want the spending power of our people to go up. We want every naira and kobo we earn to be more valuable not just here. But when we travel abroad, the way to achieve that is by doing just this.
“In addition to that, His Excellency Mr President beyond the appeal to Nigerians to actively and intentionally make that decision every day to patronize made-in-Nigeria products and services across the board, he is also wanting to ensure that Nigerians fully understand that the momentum that we are now seeing with respect to the strengthening of our currency is not going to slow down.
“The efforts that Mr President has put in place with collaboration with other agencies of government, as well as the Central Bank of Nigeria, in dealing decisively with sharp practices on certain cryptocurrency trading platforms, dealing decisively with sharp practices within the parallel market of the foreign exchange ecosystem that these things are now yielding fruit.”
The presidential spokesman equally assured that Tinubu is intent on increasing the spending power of the people and dealing with the issue of minimum wage.
He said Nigerians should expect the momentum of the Nigerian Naira and its strengthening to continue.
“We understand that there’s still going to be volatility to some extent, but we are seeing a lessening impact of that volatility, and as we move forward with the interventions Mr President is making in the foreign exchange market and will continue to make we will see increasing stability.
“The last point we want to emphasize is that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is dealing decisively with the issue of the spending power of every naira and kobo that Nigerians are earning today.
“He is also ensuring that we bring a sustainable strength to the currency so that when we talk about a new minimum wage, because many of our people have asked when the new minimum wage is coming in, those negotiations are ongoing.
“But what we do not want is a situation in which the minimum wage continues to be what it has always been in the history of our country, which is a moving goalpost.
“If we do not get a firm grip on the value of our currency and it continues to be a volatile, devaluing asset, then whatever we do with the national minimum wage is going to essentially become a moot point, nullity. And so we are focused on ensuring that yes, we arrive at a new minimum wage that states can afford, and that will deal with all of the needs of Nigerian families across the country.
“But we also want to ensure that what we peg it at is sustainable over a number of years based on the long-term, you know, stability that we want to bring to the Nigerian Naira with the interventions we’re presently making.
“And this is the point that His Excellency Mr. President wants to emphatically make today.
“There is stability coming to the currency, we’re getting closer to it, and when the new minimum wage comes into effect, it is going to be one that will be sustained over a long period of time by a stable Nigerian Naira based on the interventions being made under his leadership.”
Ngelale noted that the Tinubu administration will prioritize manufacturers who employ higher number of people for government intervention.
He said this is important so that Nigerians who rely on large-scale manufacturers are protected.
He added: “We want to ensure that those industries and sectors that are massively employing our people are prioritized with respect to government intervention, which is why the President has approved over N75 billion to be dispersed to 75 large-scale manufacturers across all states of the federation.
“These are going to be manufacturers who employ over 1000 Nigerians in each of their facilities and industries. We are going to ensure that they have the support that they need at the large scale so that Nigerian families who rely on these large-scale businesses are protected.
“We want to see our large-scale industries, not just refuse to fire people but actively increase and expand their hiring at this difficult time.
“So the President is doing everything he can to ensure that he steps in to ease the burden on families while also ensuring that he holds the public sector and the Federal Government of Nigeria accountable to prudent spending, ensuring that we cut down drastically on travel expenditures, ensuring that with the temporary ban that is being put in place from April 1 on all but necessary foreign travel, we’re expecting to save over N5 billion per quarter.
“This is going to be one out of several initiatives the President is taking to ensure that we reduce waste in the public sector in such a way that we can actually steer these very needed recurrent resources into the hands of those who are doing important work on behalf of the Nigerian people”
from dailypost
The naira is appreciating. It's a good one I must say. But then, it seems prices of commodities remain constant. I thought it was dollar rising marketers were using to justify the price increase.
ReplyDeleteI support the call in patronizing local goods to boost our economy. The politicians should lead by example in this aspect so we can take their words for it.
The policies the government is rolling out need full implementation if we must experience growth as a country. Yesterday, it was banning of ministers and other political office holders from traveling abroad on tax payers money without any economic value to the trip. I think if the government keep to their words on that, they have done well.
So we will keep watching and observing to see if words will match actions.
© TEEJAY
Those that had both and stock in large quantities thinking naira would keep depreciating want to finish selling their market before they reduce the price of the goods.
DeleteThe Naira has barely appreciated
DeleteIt’s at 1490 as of yesterday
It's good for Nigerians to patronize locally made good but standard organization of Nigeria need to step up and ensure that the products are of good quality. During the buy naija to grow naira era which was around 2016/2017, I went to a supermarket and decided patronize local goods so I bought local rice. The amount of stone in that rice! A stone almost took out my tooth. I went back to my foreign rice.
DeleteWhat's the price of diesel Ngelale? One step forward two steps backward.
ReplyDeleteWhen the transport system and electrical power is fixed, we would not need to concern ourselves with diesel costs. These are the real issues making diesel important. They should fix power and transport
Delete11:07 trucks use diesel
DeleteAre you not minimally educated? Has diesel not been deregulated since the 2nd term of OBJ? Which Nigerian official or politician determines the price of diesel? Is it not the same global base price in Nigeria and Netherlands and do we not have to import it till when our refineries can meet the need?
DeleteVery good, Mr President 👏🏼
ReplyDeleteNeesolah
Nice one Mr president,I pray it reaches the genuine manufacturers.🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
ReplyDeleteHow many politicians are patronizing locally made goods?
ReplyDeleteYou send your kids to schools abroad
You eat foreign foods
Your wives shops abroad
If a good is not imported, you won't buy because you feel it's of low quality.
If we visit your homes now, it's foreign rice we will see oh
Please, you people should not vex me this morning
Lip service
DeleteSimple minds they are, they will look at UAE and South Korea now and ooh and ahhh forgetting that both places were dirt poor only a few decades ago. They have no vision for themselves to think they could transform too, just take their money put in everyone else’s pockets instead of seeking for solutions in their own country and on their own continent. So many brilliant minds and innovative ppl in the country and who to nurture their dreams. We have Nigerian doctors in other parts of the world performing complex surgeries, why are they not in Nigeria. There are mathematics phenoms solving equations that nobody was able to solve in 100 years, why are they not in Nigeria. Nigerian born coaches are paid less and receive no perks in comparison to the coaches they import. The country does not nurtured its talents and value them. They value everything else except for their own.
DeleteThose of great means who have the capacity to stir the economy are the ones who should be doing everything to purchase locally made goods, they are the ones who crave imported goods and who can afford them. Those of small means can only afford locally made, this message is not for them.
Is he and his cabinet members eating local foods, wear locally made clothes? If not let him live by example.
DeleteDid the rules apply to Hunter Biden or Jared Kushner? Is Trump facing charges for breaking the law by taking those documents like Pence, Biden and Obama or for abusing his privilege by not returning them? If any random citizen tried a tenth of what they have been up to, would they not be locked up for donkey years by now? You cannot press the people in power from the bottom. Buy Nigeria for your own good. A weaker currency will affect your pocket far more than it would theirs.
DeleteAtiku will continue to import oil. Peter Obi will continue to import salad cream. Tinubu will continue to invest in the premium English soccer clubs and the average Nigerian will continue to liquidate their assets to buy dollars to fund their japa, all increasing it's demand and therefore, weakening the currency and making business more difficult for the producers in Nigeria.
We make our choices and face our consequences.
Good one but I wish he can start this implementation from his cabinet
ReplyDeleteMoney wey dem don pocket
ReplyDelete