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Buhari Defends Nigeria’s Central Bank Chief Emefiele, Says Unorthodox Policies Best for Economy
Nigeria President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday, defended the policies being implemented by Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, saying rather than follow textbook solutions developed in the more advanced climes, which may not be suitable for Nigeria, the apex bank’s head has rightly resorted to “unorthodox” measures in trying to resolve the country’s economic challenges.
In his written responses to Bloomberg’s interview questions, Buhari said the accusations against Emefiele by detractors, including being labelled as “political”, had more to do with the methods he was deploying to try to revamp the Nigerian economy, rather than the substance of the allegations.
The president maintained that every country should have the right to choose its economic model and policies, insisting that the CBN chief is facing criticisms because he is not following traditional methods, which have failed in the past.
Buhari stated, “But there is a subtext to the accusations. Because the governor follows a model outside of the economic orthodoxy, he is labelled political. But the orthodoxy has proved wrong time and again.
“Instead, the governor is following an alternative economic model that puts people at the heart of policy. Nigeria should be free to choose its development model and how to construct our economy, so it functions for Nigerians.”
Responding to a question on the independence of the office of the CBN governor, given Emefiele’s alleged interest in the just-concluded presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the president said if there were infractions, the board of the apex bank was better placed to sanction the governor.
He said, “The CBN governor is appointed by the president. But this appointment is subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate. Ultimately, it will be for the CBN’s Board of Directors to determine whether a CBN governor’s actions have fallen foul of the laws in place to ensure he can most effectively carry out his duties.”
A critical actor in the federal government’s efforts to boost local food production, the CBN has provided loans to farmers and restricted access to foreign exchange for importers of dozens of products, actions for which it has received flaks.
But Buhari insisted that food price inflation in the country could have been worse if Emefiele had not initiated organised programmes to boost domestic production, stressing that even at that , Nigeria still does not grow enough domestically.
He pointed out that initiatives, such as the Anchor Borrower’s Programme, boosted rice production to nine million metric tonnes in 2021, from around 5.4 million metric tonnes in 2015.
“Even in the years of drought, rice production outstripped pre-2015 levels. Imports have fallen to near zero. We are making progress,” he declared.
On why he had continued to retain subsidy on petrol, the president noted that even most Western countries were currently implementing fuel subsidies.
“Why would we remove ours now? What is good for the goose is good for the gander!” he stressed.
According to him, while the removal of subsidy may look good on paper, the impact on Nigerians would be largely negative and unbearable.
“What our Western allies are learning the hard way is what looks good on paper and the human consequences are two different things,” the president maintained.
Buhari added that while his government had put in motion plans to remove fuel subsidy late last year, after further consultation with stakeholders, and as events unfolded this year, such a move became increasingly untenable.
While internal production for refined products would help mitigate the effect of subsidy removal, the president projected that capacity would increase markedly later this year and next, as private players and modular refineries come on board.
Buhari posited that he was winning the war against corruption, starting with the Whistleblowing Policy enacted in his first year in office, revealing that hundreds of millions in stolen funds have been returned within Nigeria.
He stated that the monies had now been deployed as social and welfare funds distributed directly to the poorest during the COVID-19 pandemic and the provision of long-delayed infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, rail, and power.
He explained, “As an illustration, monetary recoveries (January-December) 2021 show that more than N152 billion has been recovered. Dollar recoveries for the year amount to over $386 million; GBP more than 1.1 million; Euro, about 157,000; Saudi Riyals about 1.7 million, some more in digital and other currencies.”
In the past, Buhari had said international partners refused to return funds they held for decades to previous Nigerian administrations in the certainty they would simply be re-stolen.
“They changed their approach with us because they knew my administration could be trusted,” he said.
Buhari said that his successor would inherit a far more resilient economy, thanks to investments in infrastructure and policies that he said had bolstered local production.
On security, the president reiterated that the military had recovered all territories previously held by Boko Haram, repeating his often-held position that terrorists no longer hold any territory in Nigeria while their leaders are now deceased.
Buhari said, “In 2015, Boko Haram held territory the size of Belgium within the borders of Nigeria. Today they are close to extinct as a military force. The leader of ISWAP was eliminated by a Nigerian Air Force airstrike in March.”
He stated that jets acquired from the US and intelligence shared by British were not provided to previous administrations. He said these stood as testament to new trust re-built between Nigeria and its Western allies.
The Nigerian leader urged its international partners to take additional steps costing them nothing, by proscribing the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and designating them as a terrorist organisation.
“Their leadership enjoys safe haven in the West, broadcasting hate speech into Nigeria from London, spending millions lobbying members of the US Congress, and freely using international financial networks to arm agitators on the ground. This must stop,” the president stated.
He added, “My administration is the only in Nigeria’s history to implement a solution to decades-long herder-farmer conflicts, exacerbated by desertification and demographic growth. The National Livestock Transformation Plan, putting ranching at its core, is the only way to deplete the competition for resources at the core of the clashes.
“Governors from some individual states have sought to play politics where ranches have been established; but where they have been disputes have dramatically reduced.”
He further opined that international trade remained rigged against food security in Africa, explaining that while the European Union’s policies are all rhetoric of open trade, their common agricultural policy undermines Africa’s self-sufficiency and grows poverty.
On the rising spate of religion-related killings, especially regarding the question of alleged blasphemy, the president declared that no one has any right to break the law and urged Christians and Muslims to respect each other’s differences.
An elderstatesman and legal icon, Chief Afe Babalola, has bagged the 2024 Best Nigerian Patriot Award for his outstanding performance in humanitarian activities, provision of quality education as well as promotion of peace.
The award was given at an induction ceremony and technical workshop for the inauguration and certification of UN Ambassadors for Peace on Thursday in Abuja.
The event with the theme, “Effective Approach to Anger Management and Tolerance as Panacea for Global Peace and Sustainable Development,” was organised by the Association of UN Ambassadors for Peace (ASUNAP).
The award was organised in collaboration with The Mighty One Empowerment Foundation (TEMOEFA) to support the United Nations efforts in promoting global peace and ethnic tolerance.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that no fewer than 10 persons were also inducted and certified as UN Ambassadors for Peace.
A former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran, who received the award on behalf of Babalola, said the association had done considerable research to come up with the nomination.
“It is one thing for individuals to be playing some roles, but it’s another thing for these roles to be recognised and to be appreciated by the society.
“As a scholar and a researcher, I know that when you do a thorough research into what individuals have contributed in this particular area, one would see that it would be difficult to find someone who has contributed more than Are Afe Babalola.
“This is quite evident from his forays into different areas of national life and continental life of Africa,” he said.
Adeniran called on Nigerians to key into the humanitarian gestures carried out by Babalola.
According to him, if more Nigerians embrace peace and conflict resolution, a lot would be achieved for the country and for humanity.
“This is because there is nothing as precious as peace; without peace, you will not have a stable polity.
“Without peace, there will be no development and love among the people.
“You will not be able to advance to the level where you can say you have reached the optimum.
“The ultimate goal of society is to actualise the potential of citizens, and to be able to get the very best for people.
“I will certainly encourage and plead with Nigerians to key into this, to do their very best, starting from the local, family, community and societal level,” he said.
Also speaking, the Global Director of Interfaith for ASUNAP, Emmanuel Emeka, said the event was aimed at recognising Nigerians in order to promote peace in the society.
Emeka said the association had holistically and comprehensively taken the data of Babalola’s performance, his impact in Nigeria and beyond and found him worthy of the award.
He said that voting was conducted across the nooks and crannies of the country, adding that his name came up with the highest number of votes among nominations.
He said the newly inducted ambassadors would be involved in conflict resolution and peacemaking.
In a keynote address, the Guest Speaker, Prof. Casmiar Obialom, charged the ambassadors not to give war a chance.
He noted that the cumulative effect of not implementing a Mrshall Plan of Action to abate the incidence of impunity had been the root cause of conflicts in society.
Among Nigerians inducted into the association were retired Brig.-Gen. Nuhu Milah, retired Commandant Anthony Nwegbo, Prof. Abiodun Ajibade, Maxwell Abubu, Mrs Comfort Arinze and Dr Raphael Gajere.
Gov. Babagana Zulum of Borno State has inaugurated three boards in the health sector and ordered a comprehensive overhaul of the state’s healthcare system to address pressing challenges.
The boards inaugurated on Thursday at the Council Chamber of the Government House, Maiduguri, include the Borno State Hospital Management Board, the Borno State Primary Healthcare Development Board and the Kashim Ibrahim University Teaching Hospital Management Board.
Speaking during the ceremony, Zulum said that reforms are necessary to strengthen the delivery of healthcare services, particularly at the primary level.
He added that “we are currently witnessing pressure on our secondary health facilities because primary healthcare is weak.
I want you to assess all hospitals individually and identify challenges related to staffing, equipment and medical supplies so that we can address the issues holistically.”
The governor also directed the boards to work toward resolving the problem of inadequate facilities, staffing and essential medical supplies.
Zulum also inaugurated the Borno State Local Government Service Commission Board, which comprises a chairman and four permanent commissioners.
He emphasised that the reforms and inaugurated boards are part of his administration’s commitment to providing accessible and efficient healthcare to the people.
Prof. Ahmed Ahidjo, the Chairman of the Kashim Ibrahim Teaching Hospital Management Board and Alhaji Modu Alhaji Musa, the Chairman, Local Government Service Commission, expressed gratitude for the honour given to them to serve and pledged to justify the confidence reposed in them.
The Kaduna State Water Services Regulatory Commission (KADWREC) says it is partnering media practitioners towards revamping water services in the state.
Mr Dogara Bashir, the Executive Chairman of KADWREC, disclosed this on Monday at a one-day workshop organised for media practitioners on regulation of ‘Water, Sanitation and Hygiene’ (WASH) activities held in Kaduna.
Bashir said the commission was aware of the importance of the role media practitioners played in the society.
He stated that the workshop was to provide an avenue to liaise with them as important stakeholders on water supply and sanitation services in the state.
Bashir said: “As media practitioners, we believe you are a gateway to the citizens so, the workshop would acquaint you with some of the regulations already in place so that you can in turn transmit it to the public
“The state of water services in Kaduna State is in dire need of attention and the State Water Corporation and KADWREC were established towards addressing the seeming challenges.
“The commission is mandated to ensure better service delivery and regulation of water and sanitation services in the State.
“The idea is that once the regulations are developed, we send them to the State Ministry of Justice to gazette and then we get the state government to endorse and give the go ahead to commence the implementation of the regulations
“We intend to implement them fully come January, 2025 God willing, as we have embarked on advocacy activities having gone to zones 1 and 2 where we talked to traditional rulers, security agencies and the Judiciary.”
He disclosed that a special Court has already been attached to the commission by the Chief Judge of the State for service providers who may likely violate regulations.
The chairman further said that amongst the commission’s objectives include ensuring security, reliability and quality of service in the production and delivery of water to the consumers as well making regulations to control the sinking of boreholes.
Others included; maximising access to water services by promoting and facilitating consumer connections to distribution systems in urban and rural areas.
According to Bashir, they also include ensuring that regulatory decision-making has regards to all the relevant health, safety, environmental and social legislation applying to the water sector.
Bashir further said that the commission collaborate with the relevant state and federal agencies on water policies.
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