Chijioke Ekechukwu, a former director-general of the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry, claimed that the Tinubu administration was telling Nigerians that there was nothing it could do to decrease the exchange rate with the 2025 budget estimate of N1,500 to $1.
A national budget of N47.96 trillion for 2025 was presented by President Tinubu to the National Assembly’s joint session of members on Tuesday.
According to him, the budget, which was created taking into account economic realities, would restore and solidify important government programs and, if followed exactly, would propel Nigerians’ prosperity in 2025.
The currency rate is anticipated to be N1500 to $1 in Tinubu’s appropriation bill, which worries Ekechukwu.
He stated on Channels Television that the purpose of the exchange rate is to inform Nigerians that “there is nothing we plan to do that will bring the exchange rate lower,” as they continue to believe that the rate may drop below N1500 or even reach N1000, indicating a crisis.
“You know, there’s an issue with that projection because you’re undermining our expectations that the exchange rate will decline.
“You’re only confirming that the exchange rate is intended to stay at this level. Indeed, if you have projected this way, you even anticipated that it would continue to be high while discussing our oil’s production potential.
Indeed, the price of oil is currently greater than the market rate, as we can already see.
However, we are seeing more than two million barrels of oil each year, according to the production output projection. A daily production of two million barrels will be a huge improvement.
Since we haven’t seen anything that will alter or boost oil output to reach two million barrels per day, that is why we are where we are today.
But as we’ve already stated, having ambition is a positive thing. Perhaps they are aware of things that we are unaware of and have not disclosed to us. That is quite ambitious, though, if it is only what we have observed on the ground.
Although it is possible to accomplish it in the next two or three years, I believe it is a bit ambitious to do so in 2025.
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There are concerns about the exchange rate. The inflation rate is also extremely ambitious. You can’t get that 15% exchange rate right now.
15%, considering the rate of inflation and the current pricing of fuel products. Therefore, you will first ask, “What are those things that are the drivers of the inflation rate?” Both of them are still high.
What more could possibly bring it down? The third one is insecurity. It is still present. And what is the item that we can’t see that will lower it to 15%?
He added, “And that’s why I said that one is almost impossible to achieve.”
