Atiku Vows to Scrap Tinubu’s Naira Float, Promises Managed Exchange Rate

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has pledged to scrap the floating exchange-rate policy of President Bola Tinubu if elected president in the 2027 presidential election.

Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesperson for the Atiku Abubakar campaign, disclosed this during an appearance on AIT’s Democracy Today programme.

Okonkwo said an Atiku administration would replace the current framework with a managed float, under which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would intervene to defend the Naira while promoting export-led production.

He criticised the reliance on market forces to determine the Naira’s value, arguing that government must play an active role in protecting the currency.

“No country in the whole world leaves their currency undefended,” Okonkwo said, insisting that stronger exports and increased production would help strengthen the Naira.

According to him, Atiku’s objective would be to improve the “quality” of the Naira rather than simply increase its quantity.

The CBN introduced the “willing buyer, willing seller” model on June 14, 2023, as part of reforms that unified Nigeria’s foreign-exchange market and gave demand and supply a greater role in determining exchange rates.

The central bank says the reforms were designed to improve transparency, price discovery, liquidity and investor confidence in the foreign-exchange market.

Okonkwo, however, argued that the policy had contributed to pressure on households and businesses through the depreciation of the Naira and rising import costs.

He cited the increase in the cost of imported goods, foreign education and other dollar-denominated expenses as evidence of the impact of exchange-rate movements on Nigerians.

The campaign spokesperson also linked currency strength to Nigeria’s ability to produce more goods for export than it imports.

He criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic policies and questioned whether recent export growth had translated into improved living conditions for Nigerians.

Under Atiku’s proposed managed-float model, Okonkwo said the CBN would defend the currency while government policies would focus on boosting domestic production, exports and foreign-exchange earnings.

The proposal would represent a significant change from the current market-oriented foreign-exchange framework introduced under the Tinubu administration.