Since the slump in the price of crude oil began in 2014, Nigeria has been amongst the hardest hit countries. The country has been struggling to save its economy, which is about 75 percent dependent on oil revenue and as a result of this, its foreign exchange reserve has depleted drastically since then. In an attempt to resuscitate the economy, the government put in stringent monetary policies to save the Nigerian Naira, unfortunately, these tactics did not help and the currency weakened further. The strategies include restrictions placed on access to foreign currency for the importation of a list of 41 items in total, including rice and margarine.
These policies have affected several businesses in the country, leading to the shutting down of many foreign-owned companies operating in the country, as they were unable to access foreign exchange in order to repatriate the revenue they accrued.
According to the government, they were put in place to help boost local production and halt the importation of goods that could be produced in the country. However, many question how this can occur when there are no manufacturing infrastructure in place to facilitate this.
Since President Buhari assumed office, a lot has happened in Nigeria including the very prominent fight against corruption, which many have labelled bias. Concerning the economy, the country seems to be on a backward-moving train. In addition to this, the president, by his utterances, has shown that the Central Bank of Nigeria is not independent of the Federal Government. This is against the CBN Act of 1991, which states that the bank shall be an independent body in the discharge of its functions.
In view of these, 2016 has been a “remarkable” year for President Buhari administration as far as the economy is concerned.
Here are the “record-breaking” achievements by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration in 2016.
Lowest oil output: According to figures from the state-owned oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria’s oil production is currently at 1.5 million barrels per day (bpd) compared to the regular production of 2.2 million bpd. This is as a result of persistent militant attacks on oil pipelines and infrastructure, putting Nigeria’s oil production at its lowest in over three decades.
Highest interest rate: On Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 200 basis points to 14 percent in an attempt to attract foreign investment and stem the rising inflation. According to available data, this is the highest Nigeria has recorded since 2006.
Highest inflation rate: The National Bureau of Statistics, on July 18th, released its 2016 June Consumer Price Index, which revealed that Nigeria’s inflation rate has risen to 16.5 percent. This is the highest it has ever been in over a decade and is the fifth consecutive quarterly rise in the rate of inflation across the country.
Naira hit an all time low: On Wednesday, the Nigerian Naira fell against the US Dollar to N334.50 at the Interbank Foreign Exchange market representing an all time low. This is the lowest the Naira has ever reached.
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