News
Enhancing Nigeria’s Economic Stability: A Closer Look At Policy Tightening And Naira Valuation
By Tambaya Julius
In his recent remarks, Ari Aisen, the IMF’s mission chief for Nigeria, emphasizes the crucial need for additional macroeconomic tightening of both fiscal and monetary policies.
The aim is to provide the naira and the economy with a solid foundation for lasting stability and growth.
Aisen asserts, “We must enhance macroeconomic tightening in both fiscal and monetary realms to pave the way for a more durable stability in the naira and our economy.”
Addressing the short-term challenges head-on, Aisen highlights the potential for renewed confidence in the medium term.
By fostering this confidence, the Nigerian economy could experience a transformative shift towards a more conducive environment for investment.
This, in turn, could enhance credibility, boost visibility, and ultimately lead to job creation, propelling Nigeria towards a brighter future.
The discussions took place against the backdrop of the Arbiterz conference, which centred around the theme “The Naira Paths to Institutional Reforms and Accelerated Growth.”
During the conference, a key highlight was the commendation for the initial implementation of the willing buyer willing seller foreign exchange regime.
Aisen lauds the willing buyer and seller policy, recognizing it as a positive stride.
However, he cautions that the naira’s volatility might persist, albeit with potential reduction in the long term through strategic macroeconomic measures.
In the currency market, Aisen points out the imbalance between the demand for foreign exchange and its supply, potentially leading to depreciation.
He emphasizes the importance of increased foreign exchange inflows to rectify this challenge.
Aisen turns his attention to the prevailing interest rates, noting that the current rate of 18.75 percent fails to fully reflect market dynamics.
Lower market rates, particularly in instruments like treasury bills, underscore the need for alignment. This discrepancy affects foreign inflows and stifles savings amongst Nigerians.
One notable concern highlighted by Aisen is the perceived loose fiscal policies.
Despite the elimination of petrol subsidies and resultant fiscal savings, Nigeria’s debt levels remain high.
Aisen comments, “The situation we observe is the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) continuing to inject liquidity into the system through ways and means.
If not controlled, this injection could lower interest rates in the economy.”
Looking forward, Aisen recommends short-term tightening to support the naira’s stability.
However, he acknowledges the challenge of balancing this approach with the public’s well-being.
He suggests a nuanced path, ensuring confidence rebuilds over a medium-term horizon of approximately 18 months.
He emphasizes the importance of protecting vulnerable populations through social policies amidst inflationary pressures.
The conference also featured insights from Ayo Teriba, CEO of Economic Associates, who advocates for optimizing national assets to generate revenue.
Teriba emphasizes the need for strategic asset utilization rather than outright selling.
He compares Nigeria’s untapped real estate potential to assets that could alleviate the nation’s debt burden, echoing strategies employed by economically successful nations like Dubai.
Unlocking Nigeria’s dead assets, estimated at around N180 trillion by PwC, could be a game-changing strategy for the government.
This would alleviate the pressure of debt servicing, which is projected to consume 100 percent of revenues in the current year.
Bismarck Rewane, CEO of Financial Derivatives, examines the volatile naira market, projecting a value between N680-N720 with the current rate at N925.
He underscores the importance of concurrent institutional reforms within entities like NNPC, FIRS, and CBN.
These reforms are pivotal for restoring confidence and achieving a well-aligned, true valuation of the naira.
The discussions at the Arbiterz conference shed light on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead, emphasizing the need for strategic actions to pave the way for a more resilient and prosperous financial future.
By Israel Bulus, Kaduna
As Nigeria joins the global community to mark World Malaria Day 2025, the Caleb Danladi Foundation has stepped up its efforts to combat the disease, with a special focus on protecting vulnerable populations.
Aligning with this year’s theme, “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite,” the Foundation facilitated the re-enrollment of hundreds of women, children, and other at-risk groups into the Kaduna State Health Insurance Scheme.
Founder of the Foundation, Captain Caleb Danladi, disclosed that the organisation fully funded the beneficiaries’ insurance premiums to enhance their access to malaria prevention and treatment services.
Speaking during Friday’s commemoration, Danladi lamented that malaria continues to claim countless lives, particularly in underserved communities.
“Healthcare is a right, not a privilege,” he said. “On this World Malaria Day, we reaffirm our commitment to saving lives through direct support, strong advocacy, and strategic investments in community health solutions.”
He emphasised the need for sustained investments in healthcare and a reimagined approach to delivering equitable services across communities.
Danladi also urged government agencies, healthcare workers, and development partners to strengthen collaboration efforts aimed at eradicating malaria, noting that safeguarding the health and dignity of Nigerians especially women and children is a shared responsibility.
The Director-General (D-G) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, stated that Africa would be minimally impacted by the tariffs imposed by the President of the United States of America (USA), Donald Trump.
Okonjo-Iweala made the remark during an interview with Nigerian journalists at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank in Washington D.C. on Friday.
She explained that only 6.5 per cent of Africa’s exports go to the USA, while 4.4 per cent of its imports come from the U.S., meaning that the impact on the continent would be minimal.
“The trade of the continent is very limited with the USA. We have done the analysis, and the impact on the continent as a whole is not significant,” she said.
However, she noted that Africa’s limited trade with the USA was also not ideal, as it hindered economic growth.
The D-G emphasised that Africa needed to focus on utilising its own resources to reach its full potential, as aid was declining, and the continent required more investment.
She pointed out that Africa must strengthen internal trade, citing Lesotho as an example.
In spite of Lesotho exporting 200 million dollars’ worth of textiles to the USA, the country faced challenges due to the shrinking U.S. market.
Okonjo-Iweala noted that Africa spent 7 billion dollars annually on importing textiles, suggesting that Lesotho should instead focus on selling textiles within African markets.
She also urged the USA to consider the effects of tariffs on least-developed countries, calling for a reassessment of the reciprocal tariffs in poorer nations.
Okonjo-Iweala concluded that Africa needed more investments and should work towards boosting intra-Africa trade, which remained underdeveloped.
“We cannot trade more externally, where our trade is only 3 per cent of world trade, or internally, where intra-Africa trade is 16 to 20 per cent at most,” she said.(NAN)
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), the umbrella body of cattle herders in Nigeria, has praised President Bola Tinubu for appointing Mr. Tosin Ajayi as Directo- General of the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the appointment as one of the best by the administration.
MACBAN thanked President Tinubu for creating the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, saying it was a fulfillment of one of his campaign promises to the body and would greatly improve the livestock industry in Nigeria.
The body said the DSS handling of the security situation in Plateau, Benue and other states was with outmost professionalism and deserved commendation.
MACBAN’s statement came a few days after the Plateau State government praised the DSS for being it’s most reliable partner in fighting insecurity in the state. Plateau state government said the DSS helped solve several security problems in the state.
In a statement issued Friday in Abuja, MACBAN charged other security agencies to learn from the way the new DSS leadership has been stepping in to secure life and property, saying it was impressed by efforts by the DSS DG to investigate the root cause of the problems across the states.
The statement was signed by MACBAN national president, Baba Othman Ngelzarma.
Said MACBAN, “We salute the professionalism with which the DSS has been handling the delicate security challenges in Plateau, Benue and several other states.
“Only recently, the DSS DG averted what would have been a very serious security crisis in Enugu State where nine young Fulani men were murdered in cold blood and their corpses dumped in the bush.
“It took painstaking efforts by Mr. Ajayi to help douse tensions.
“We are encouraged by the DG’s belief that there cannot be peace without justice. We are happy that he’s been warding off political pressures to paint law-abiding Fulani herdsmen with the same brush used to paint terrorists and criminals.
“To be sure, there are criminal elements as well as good persons among all races and tribes. We are happy that, under Mr. Ajayi, the DSS has been able to draw the line between criminality and law-abiding Fulani herdsmen who break sweat to earn decent living,” noted MACBAN, adding, “we urge other security agencies to take a cue from the DSS.”
According to the largest body of cattle herders in Nigeria, over 20 percent of its members, and four million heads of cattle, have been forced by insecurity to flee Nigeria, with hundreds of families displaced.
The exodus of herders, noted the group, had raised the cost of beef, the cheapest meat source in Nigeria.
MACBAN promised to cooperate with federal and state governments as well as support security agencies to help restore peace to boost businesses and agricultural economic activities.