Emir of Kano criticises President Buhari over exchange rate policies

– Emir of Kano, Lamido Sanusi has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of encouraging corruption with his exchange rate policies

– Sanusi said the president’s anti-corruption stance was totally inconsistent with the foreign exchange regime he supported

– Sanusi is a former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and has been consistent in his contributions to the polity especially as regards the Nigerian economy

Emir of Kano and former central bank governor, Lamido Sanusi has accused President Muhammadu Buhari of encouraging corruption with his exchange rate policies.

Sanusi said the president’s anti-corruption stance was totally inconsistent with the foreign exchange regime he supported.

“Unfortunately, because the exchange rate is right out there in front now, monetary policy is being seen as the barometer for broader economic thinking. It is sad that on this one policy you get it so wrong that you risk taking away attention from everything else you are doing.

“There are no easy options and devaluation is a bitter pill. But I had reserves of over $40bn and an oil price at over $110,” he said.

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Sanusi said the currency peg and restrictions in the foreign exchange market creating “a lot of speculative and precautionary demand”.

Speaking further with Financial Times, Sanusi said “These measures are good for the economy and display strong political will to change the system. But getting monetary and fiscal policies right will be crucial for broader progress in structural reform.”

In a related development, Christine Lagarde, managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), says Nigeria needs to adopt a “sensible” foreign exchange policy as it strives to fend off external economic shocks.

“The IMF remains available to all its members, so the moment we are asked to help, we’ll do the best we can to help. she said.

“Both countries, Azerbaijan and Nigeria, have been hard hit by the oil price decline shock, because their economies depended heavily on oil exports, both in terms of trade, and in terms also of revenue. “When you lose a lot of that, because the price decline was about 70 percent, then clearly it puts the economy under shock,” she said.

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Meanwhile, recently Sanusi warned that Nigeria may experience a repeat of the January 15 1966 military coup if some parts of the country continue in violence and disunity.

He made the comment on Thursday, January 14, in his brief remarks during the 50th commemoration of the death of the Sardauna of Sokoto, Sir Ahmadu Bello.

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