President Bola Tinubu Thursday in Lagos said he could have chosen to maintain the multiple foreign exchange systems he met upon assuming office and benefit from it, but instead opted to unify the official and parallel market rates to save the country from financial hemorrhage.
“I could afford to share the benefit by participating in the arbitrage, but God forbid! That’s not why you voted for me,” Tinubu said at a civic reception organised in his honour by the Lagos State Government at Lagos House, Marina.
The Special Adviser to the President on Special Duties, Communication and Strategy, Dele Alake, revealed this in a statement he signed late Thursday titled ‘Why I chose to unify exchange rate, refused to take part in arbitrage – Tinubu.’
The Nigerian leader said he unified the exchange rates in the nation’s best interest just like he did with fuel subsidy removal.
He explained that these moves were necessary in the early days of his administration to “stop the bleeding of our finances.”
We have no choice,” he added.
Tinubu said as a way of ensuring good use of available resources, the government will “re-engineer the effectiveness of the control and management of our resources in order to meet the obligations to Nigerians by political officeholders”.
Therefore, he solicited the support of governors present at the event to work with him in ensuring the even development of the country.
He affirmed that “We will work together with an open door policy. We will bring Nigeria from the brink of a resilient economy. I want us to be partners so that we can rescue our land and make it a born-again nation.”
In his remarks, the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, described Tinubu as a competent manager of human and financial resources capable of turning Nigeria’s economic fortunes around.