Atiku Knocks NNPC’s $3bn Loan To Stabilise Naira

Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last election, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, has described as fraudulent the announcement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) that it had taken a loan for the primary purpose of supporting the naira.

Atiku, in a statement by his special assistant on Public Communication Phrank Shaibu, said the announcement was a mere banana peel, a ruse to force the naira to appreciate on the parallel market.

He added that the move was cosmetic and unimaginative and had once again exposed President Bola Tinubu as a “lilliputian economist”.

He argued that monetary policy was not the job of the NNPCL but the Central Bank of Nigeria and wondered why the NNPCL, which claimed to be a profit-making organisation, would go ahead to take a loan for the primary purpose of stabilising the naira.

Atiku’s aide also drew parallels between the actions of the NNPCL and the CBN under the authority of Godwin Emefiele.

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Shaibu added that oil production had dropped on Tinubu’s watch due to continuous oil theft. He said that instead of boosting forex liquidity by increasing production and exports, Tinubu decided to take the Jejune path of obtaining foreign loans, an inglorious road that his predecessor had travelled.

He said, “For many years, Tinubu claimed that he built the economy of Lagos from scratch. Now, he has been exposed as a charlatan. His administration detained Emefiele and vilified him for taking FX loans from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs running into $7.5bn, which was used in defending the naira.

“Now, Tinubu’s administration claims to have done the same thing by forcing the NNPCL to take a loan of $3bn to defend the naira. We, however, have it on good authority that this is all a ruse to force the naira to appreciate at the parallel market, an action that will further affect the government’s credibility.

“The NNPCL has failed to shed the toga of an ordinary government agency. No wonder it has refused to become a public limited liability company, as stated in the Petroleum Industry Act.  The NNPCL boss, Mele Kyari, who is also desperate to retain his job, has allowed himself to become a willing political tool just like Emefiele. If the NNPCL was a publicly listed oil firm like Aramco and Mobil, would it obtain a loan in order to ‘defend the naira’?”

Shaibu said Tinubu lacked a clear economic blueprint, hence his constant failures. He argued that Tinubu’s policy flip-flops had already begun affecting Nigerian bonds, as reported by Bloomberg.

He added, “The PUNCH aptly described Tinubu in its recent editorial as a loose cannon that goes around with a wrecking ball. He takes action whimsically without thinking about consequences. He announced the removal of petrol subsidies without proper planning and brought the nation to its knees.

“He forced the CBN to float the naira even though the country had liquidity problems. Now, he is on the verge of taking the West African region to war without Senate approval. Tinubu is nothing but a myth that will continue to unravel.

“He claims to have deregulated the petroleum sector, and yet NNPC is still the one determining the price of petrol. He has pegged the price of petrol and yet claims that there is no subsidy. Nigerians must not allow themselves to be deceived by this man.”