To tackle inflation, Buhari insists no forex for food import

President Muhammadu Buhari has again directed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) not to grant foreign exchange for food importation.

He said this was one of the strategies by his administration to stem the rising cost of foodstuffs in the country as from early next year, adding that diversification from oil to agriculture had saved Nigeria from the harsh economic realities of COVID-19.

He spoke on Tuesday during his fifth meeting with the Presidential Economic Advisory Council at the State House, Abuja.

Buhari, according to a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, said since seven states produce enough rice that the nation would need, it made no sense to import the food item.

“The CBN must not give money to import food. Already, about seven states are producing all the rice we need. We must eat what we produce,” he stated.

The President had in September explained that Nigeria which hitherto had only three fertilizer blending plants now has 33.

He said, “Going back to the land is the way out. We depended on petrol at the expense of agriculture. Now, the oil industry is in turmoil. We are being squeezed to produce at 1.5 million barrels a day as against a capacity to produce 2.3 million. At the same time, the technical cost of our production per barrel is high, compared to the Middle East production cost.”

The President emphasised the place of agriculture in the efforts to restore the economy but agreed that measures must be put in place to curtail inflation in the country:

He said, “We will continue to encourage our people to go back to the land. Our elite is indoctrinated in the idea that we are rich in oil, leaving the land for the city for oil riches. We are back to the land now.

“We must not lose the opportunity to make life easier for our people. Imagine what would have happened if we didn’t encourage agriculture and close the borders. We would have been in trouble.”

The meeting, which was for a review of  and reflections on the global and domestic economy in the outgoing year was attended by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, as well as Ministers of Finance, Zainab  Ahmed and her  Humanitarian Affairs counterpart Sadiya  Farouk.

The meeting noted the sharp deterioration in international economic environment and its impact on Nigeria’s continuing but fragile economic recovery; that Nigeria’s economic growth continues to be constrained by obvious challenges, including infrastructural deficiencies and limited resources for government financing.

It also noted the need to make the private sector of the economy the primary source of investment, rather than government.

It reviewed progress towards structural reforms in response to the economic crises, including the institution of the Economic Sustainability Plan, the changes in electricity tariffs and fuel pricing regime, the partial re-opening of the nation’s land borders, the movement towards unification of exchange rates and budgetary reforms through Finance Bill 2020 and 2021.

It also agreed that to prepare the country for the challenges ahead, it is imperative to ensure macro-economic stability, create certainty and re-build investor confidence in the economy.

The meeting stressed the need to deepen structural reforms initiated by the Buhari administration as a basis for stimulating investments from domestic and international sources with a view to raising productivity in key sectors of the economy.