President Bola Tinubu has hailed what he said is the disciplined approach adopted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to monetary policy management which he said is responsible for ensuring stability and predictability in foreign exchange market.
This discipline, he said has led to the growth of the country’s Foreign Exchange FX reserves to over $37bn from the inherited $33bn yet paid back the inherited forex backlog of $7 billion.
Additionally, the country cleared the ways and means debt of over N30 trillion, and reduced debt service ratio from 97 per cent to 68 per cent despite the many headwinds Nigerian economy faced at the time he assumed office 16 months ago.
He made this known in his national broadcast on Tuesday to mark the 64th Independence Anniversary.
Hear him, “We inherited a reserve of over $33 billion 16 months ago. Since then, we have paid back the inherited forex backlog of $7 billion. We have cleared the ways and means debt of over N30 trillion. We have reduced the debt service ratio from 97 per cent to 68 per cent.
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“Despite all these, we have managed to keep our foreign reserve at $37 billion. We continue to meet all our obligations and pay our bills.”
President Tinubu added that the country is moving ahead with its fiscal policy reforms.
“To stimulate our productive capacity and create more jobs and prosperity, the Federal Executive Council approved the Economic Stabilisation Bills, which will now be transmitted to the National Assembly.
“These transformative bills will make our business environment more friendly, stimulate investment and reduce the tax burden on businesses and workers once they are passed into law” he added.
By Babajide Okeowo