N4.83trn Ways and Means Settlement: Senate Leader forsees drop in inflation by mid-year

Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele has predicted a significant fall in the rate of inflation in the country by the middle of 2024, citing current economic indices.

According to Bamidele, who made the prediction in his Sallah message on Wednesday, the repayment of N4.83 trillion out of N30 trillion Ways and Means to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by the Federal Government, the improvement in the value of the naira against the US currency, dollar and the settlement of $7 billion FX backlog by the CBN, and “the consumer price index, which measures inflation, will no doubt begin to drop significantly by mid-year as we sustain the drive for economic and fiscal stability.”

According to the Senate Leader, the National Assembly would still be committed to providing much-needed parliamentary buffers that always support key public institutions to efficiently discharge their mandates consistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,1999.

The statement read: “I rejoice with the Muslim faithful as they celebrate Eid-el-Fitr nationwide. Eid-el-Fitr marks the end of the 2024 Ramadan fasting, which started from March 10 and ended on April 9. Within this timeframe, we must have learnt a lot of lessons, especially at this critical time in our history.

“Ramadan, I strongly believe, has again reminded us about the essence of forgiving others, ministering of compassion to the less privilege, respect for human dignity, promoting peaceful co-existence and upholding propriety and piety in all facets of life, which we must all embrace irrespective of our ethnic and religious leanings.

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“These lessons are not meant for the period of Ramadan fasting only. Also, they are indeed principles and values, which should always guide and shape the life of every Nigerian, the quest of all businesses and conglomerates, the timeless task of building our fatherland as well as the decisions of the governments at all levels.

“Now that Ramadan has come to an end, these lessons should reflect in the way we support our governments to resolve the myriad of internal challenges that we are collectively as a federation. It should reflect in the way we intercede the more for this federation to sustain the gains of economic stability and political cohesion that we have started experiencing in recent times. It should also reflect in our approaches to conducting businesses; running governments at all levels and discharging civic responsibilities on a daily basis.

“Since the sustained implementation of pro-people macro-economic policies under this government, stability has started returning to economic and fiscal spaces. As against ₦1,900/$ in February 2024, the value of Naira is ₦1,117.5/$ as at Wednesday. This represents a gain of about 42% within the space of two months.

“Besides, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has settled $7 billion valid foreign exchange backlogs. The federal government has paid back a whopping sum of ₦4.83 trillion out of ₦30 trillion ways and means it obtained from the CBN. And the flow of foreign direct investments is improving by the day.

“With these indices, the consumer price index, which measures inflation, will no doubt begin to drop significantly by mid-year as we sustain the drive for economic and fiscal stability. At the National Assembly, we are committed to providing much-needed parliamentary buffers that always support key public institutions to efficiently discharge their mandates consistent with the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.

“Sustaining our drive for economic stability, political cohesion and social inclusion no doubt demands the outright adherence to the core essence of Eid-el-Fitr, which in entirety forbids the sabotage of government policies, the quest for profiteering, the exploitation of our collective resources and the sponsoring of internal disharmony, all in the name of selfish interest and political aspiration.

“Happy Eid-el-Fitr Celebration to all my Muslim Brothers Nationwide.”

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