Former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, says the printing and injection of N22.7 trillion into the economy through “Ways and Means” by the administration of late former president Muhammadu Buhari destroyed the value of the naira.
Dogara made this known on Tuesday at the inaugural parliamentary lecture of the House of Representatives Press Corps, HORPC, themed; ‘Navigating Tax Reforms in Nigeria: Insights on President Tinubu’s Policies’.
According to him, Buhari’s forex system enriched anointed few for doing nothing, adding that the nation’s economy was on the brink of collapse before President Bola Tinubu assumed office
He stated that the existence of a dual exchange rate created a system in which a privileged few made hundreds of millions of naira from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) forex allocations without producing goods or rendering services.
The former Speaker noted that loans were obtained to defend the naira, pointing out that such measures were unsustainable and amounted to “voodoo economics”.
“Before delving into the subject matter proper, it is important to provide some context so that we don’t think the reform (Tinubu’s reforms) came out of the blue or that it was some kind of ego trip embarked upon by the government.
“By the time President Tinubu took office, the economic debris of the nation had become too conspicuous to be ignored. N22.7 trillion had been printed and injected into the economy in the name of Ways and Means thereby destroying the value of the naira in our pockets.
“Also, the dual exchange rate meant that some anointed people were making hundreds of millions of naira off forex allocations from the CBN without producing any goods or offering any services whatsoever, and tying our crude sales to foreign loans in the name of forward sales of crude was fast becoming the order of the day.
“Some of the foreign loans had been procured to help strengthen the naira, a measure that could only be sustained by voodoo economics,” he said.
Dogara, who chairs the National Credit Guarantee Company, NCGC, said one of Tinubu’s key reforms is repealing and reenacting obsolete tax laws.
He said the presidential committee on fiscal policy and tax reform, chaired by Taiwo Oyedele, proposed “revolutionary reforms” for Nigeria’s tax system.
Dogara said Nigerians who opposed the tax bills did so, hoping Tinubu would fail.
