Makinde-Daura campaign disputes Tinubu's naira recovery claims

The Makinde-Daura Presidential Campaign Organisation has accused President Bola Tinubu's administration of trying to take credit for the naira's recent stabilization after economic measures that initially drove a steep decline in the currency. In a public statement, Richard Nnanna Ihediwa, the campaign's Director of Strategic Communications, said small improvements in the exchange rate provide limited relief to Nigerians still facing high inflation and a rising cost of living. "Mr President, you cannot preside over the destruction of the purchasing power of our national currency and turn around to seek public applause," Ihediwa said. The campaign noted that when Tinubu took office in May 2023, the official exchange rate was about ₦461 to the dollar. It said later policy decisions, including scrapping the petrol subsidy and merging foreign exchange windows, pushed the currency close to ₦2,000 per dollar. The organization also criticized the President's description of a rate of about ₦1,340 per dollar as manageable or "pocketable," arguing that such figures do not reflect the daily financial difficulties of ordinary Nigerians trying to afford essentials such as food and medicine.