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Nigeria has never benefited from naira devaluation –Buhari
President Muhammadu Buahri on Friday said he was not interested in devaluing the naira because Nigeria did not benefit anything from such previous exercise.
According to the President, devaluation has never benefitted the vast majority of the Nigerian people in any tangible way.
The President stated this in a meeting with members of the Council of Retired Federal Permanent Secretaries, adding that he still held the conviction which motivated his principled resistance to devaluation in his first tenure as Head of State.
A statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, quoted the President as saying: “When I was military Head of State, the IMF and the World Bank wanted us to devalue the Naira and remove petrol subsidy but I stood my grounds for the good of Nigeria.
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“The Naira remained strong against the Dollar and other foreign currencies until I was removed from office in August, 1985 and it was devalued.
“But how many factories were built and how many jobs were created by the devaluation?
“That is why I’m still asking to be convinced today on the benefits of devaluation,” the President told the retired Permanent Secretaries led by Otunba Christopher Tugbobo.
Speaking at the meeting with the President, the first pioneer chairman of the council, Chief Philip Asiodu, said members of the council want the present administration to succeed because Nigeria has already lost many opportunities for progress.
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