Oyintiloye Olatunbosun, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State, has expressed that President Bola Tinubu’s strategic policy concerning the unification of exchange rates is beginning to yield positive outcomes. He made these remarks during an interaction with journalists on Sunday in Osogbo.
It’s worth recalling that last month, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria raised its benchmark interest rate, known as the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), by 200 basis points to 24.75 per cent from 22.75 per cent in February 2024, as part of efforts to curb inflation and stabilize the naira.
Olatunbosun, a former lawmaker, acknowledged that while the policy initially posed challenges for Nigerians, recent experiences indicate that it is starting to have a favourable impact on the nation’s economy. He praised the commendable appreciation of the Naira against the dollar in both the parallel and official markets, which he sees as a significant relief for Nigerians.
Furthermore, he emphasized that the current economic growth in the country would attract foreign portfolio investment, stabilize prices, and mitigate inflationary pressures.
Oyintiloye also commended the Central Bank of Nigeria for successfully clearing a $7 billion forex backlog, noting that this action would further stabilize the exchange rate. He asserted that the liberalization of the foreign exchange market and the continuous appreciation of the Naira would unlock substantial investment potential and restore investor confidence in Nigeria’s economy.
He urged Nigerians to remain patient with the president, assuring them that the situation would continue to improve.
“The strategic policy of President Bola Tinubu, on the unification of exchange rate has started yielding positive results.
“With the steady appreciation of naira in the last few weeks, we can begin to say the worst is over.
“In the next few months, we will continue to reap the benefits of the tough economic decisions that was made by the president.
“This will clearly prove to us that the president meant well for all Nigerians in all his economic policies.
“The way the naira is fast appreciating against the dollar and other currencies is amazing and I know we will soon be benefiting from it.
“The Renewed Agenda of the president will be fulfilled and Nigerians will surely laugh last”, he said.
Oyintiloye also called on Nigerians to reduce their appetite for foreign goods to fast-track the growth of the nation’s economy.
He said Nigeria as a nation must also cut its dependence on foreign goods, increase local production, and enhance entrepreneurship.
The APC chieftain noted that these would help to strengthen the Naira which was under too much pressure.
“By importing, we are simply developing the economies of the countries we buy from through job creation, value chain maintenance, capacity for product development, and other spin-off effects of production.
“We have to feed our population and depend less on importation to fast-track development of our country,” Oyintiloye said.
