Atiku Unveils Alternative Economic Strategies, Says Tinubu’s Policies Ill-advised, Poorly Executed

In a strongly-worded press release today, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar took aim at the economic policies of Bola Tinubu’s administration, particularly focusing on the recent decision to float the Nigerian naira. Atiku asserted that the move was “ill-advised” and criticized its execution as being “poorly, hurriedly executed without understanding.”

The press release highlighted a meeting convened by Tinubu to address the foreign exchange crisis and economic downturn, where Atiku claims Tinubu failed to present concrete policy steps to tackle these challenges. Instead, Tinubu allegedly urged the country to allow his administration time to develop their strategies, prompting Atiku to express disagreement.

Atiku accused the Tinubu administration of implementing wrong policies that are causing “untold pain and distress” on the economy. He argued that the government’s approach lacks creativity and demonstrated a “poverty of ideas” to address the current crises of currency fluctuation and poverty.

Drawing on his own economic expertise, Atiku proposed alternative measures in his policy document titled “My Covenant With Nigerians.” He emphasized the need to reform the foreign exchange market by eliminating multiple exchange rate windows, rejecting the idea of a fixed exchange rate system, and advocating for a managed-floating system to control and stabilize the value of the naira.

Atiku criticized Tinubu’s FX management policy, asserting that it was hastily implemented without proper plans and consultations with stakeholders. He claimed that the government failed to anticipate and downplayed the potential negative consequences of its actions, particularly in not granting sufficient independence to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to design and implement a sound FX Management Policy.

Concluding the press release, Atiku expressed his belief that the Nigerian economy could recover if the government opens itself to sound counsel, addresses corruption, and carefully negotiates foreign loans. The former Vice President signed off with a call for the government to take corrective actions to put the economy back on track.