President Muhammadu Buahri has been severely criticized in different quarters for being against the devaluation of the naira. He has remained unfazed, insisting on Friday in Abuja that he was yet to be convinced that the vast majority of ordinary Nigerians will derive any tangible benefit from a devaluation of the Naira.
“When I was military Head of State, the IMF and the World Bank wanted us devalue the Naira and remove petrol subsidy but I stood my grounds for the good of Nigeria,” Buhari said at a meeting with members of the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries. He said that he still held the same conviction.
“The Naira remained strong against the Dollar and other foreign currencies until I was removed from office in August, 1985 and it was devalued.
“But how many factories were built and how many jobs were created by the devaluation?
“That is why I’m still asking to be convinced today on the benefits of devaluation,” President Buhari told the retired Permanent Secretaries led by Otunba Christopher Tugbobo.
President Buhari welcomed the Council’s pledge of support for the successful implementation of his administration’s Change Agenda, especially in the priority areas of improving security, curbing corruption and revitalizing the national economy.
“I am glad you have rightly identified the key issues we campaigned on.
“We need a dynamic bureaucracy which will not mislead us into taking wrong decisions,” the President said.
