The presidency has declared that the Nigerian Naira is competing favourably with the United States Dollar particularly when weighed against the global economic challenges.
The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu made the declaration on Sunday when he featured on a Channels Television’s interview programme.
Asked during the programme to comment on the naira to the dollar exchange rate in the light of how much it was in 2015 when the current administration took over and how much it is currently in 2021, Shehu said it would have been better for economists to answer the question.
He noted that: “I think the economists are more competent to talk about this but the naira is in the best possible health that it can be given the circumstance we are in.”
Naija News reports that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) last week, devalued the naira, posting a new rate of N410.25 as its official exchange rate to the dollar on its website.
In the black market, the naira to dollar exchange rate is as high as N490/$1.
It should be noted that the naira was N197 to 1$ in 2015 when President Buhari took over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria.
Shehu during his interview on Sunday however submitted that his principal has managed the country’s economy very well since taking over.
He argued that while some other countries are recording negative growth particularly due to the effects of the global COVID-19 pandemic, Nigeria under Buhari is recording positive growth.
“If you ask me this question, I will tell you that whoever questions the capacity of the government to manage the economy probably also need to have themselves re-examined because look at all of the things that have happened with COVID over the last year or more.
“Can you see that in the entire Africa continent, this is the only country that is recording positive growth in its economy? Everybody is going under but our people are working day and night to ensure we don’t go under, we don’t go down as other countries.”
“As far as I know, this government has the best team that anybody can have on the continent because the facts are there speaking for the administration,” he stated when asked about how his principal has been able to manage Nigeria’s economy.
