APC Governors Agitation over Currency Redesign needs to be called into Question – Dr Mustapha Akinkumi

Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi, an African economist has berated the governors of the ruling party for their uproar regarding the currency redesign in contrast to their silence about the kidnap of the Chibok girls in the country, the ASUU strike and the current administration’s inability to resolve the issue amongst other burning issues dear to Nigerians.

During a recent chat on Channels TV’s breakfast show “Sunrise,” African economist, Dr. Mustapha Akinkunmi, spoke on the recent Naira redesign policy and the resultant adverse economic impact on Nigerians.

Dr. Akinkunmi who was reacting to the governors’ quick response to the issue of cash scarcity in the country also slammed them for their failure to act or comment on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) action of printing more money than it was allowed according to the CBN Act.

He said: “They didn’t talk about the Chibok girls, they didn’t talk about the kidnappings but they are now talking about cash. Let’s look at the issue of this cash carefully, before the ruling party, the cash in circulation was about 1.4 trillion, in September last year, it was about 3.4. Keep in mind that we have inflation and recession.”

During the “Sunrise,” interview, he lauded Nigeria’s apex bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the “great policy” but also faulted it for failing to ensure the tech aspect needed to match the success of the policy was not in place.

Dr Akinkunmi went on to call out the ruling party’s lack of coherence in economic policies, highlighting how it has resulted in the worst economic situation Nigeria has ever recorded.

Dr Akinkunmi said; “Without prejudice, Nigeria has changed significantly since 2015 and that is a result of a lack of clarity, which is what we see now with the ruling party. On average, we are using 23 percent of our revenue to service our debt from 2011 to 2014. That number moved up to 52 percent of our revenue from 2015 to 2018. Today, that number is about 80 percent of our revenue. That is the story.”

Speaking on why Nigerians would benefit from a PDP/Atiku led administration he referenced the Obasanjo-Atiku led government and how the former president traveled around the world in the early years of his administration while Atiku focused on the nation’s economy, leading to double-digit growth.

Dr. Akinkunmi said this growth led to many Nigerians returning back home because of the belief that Nigeria would continue to move forward.

When asked about the connection between the CBN printing money above the 5% granted it by the Central Bank Act under section 38 and inflation, Dr. Akinkunmi agreed that there is a connection. He explained that

“There is no cooperation between the fiscal side and the monetary side. We are in a mess. It’s illegal for the CBN to do that but we all kept quiet, nobody is talking about that. All the ruling party governors did not talk about that. They didn’t talk about the inflation.”
On what Nigeria needs, and why it needs a PDP/Atiku led administration, Dr. Akinkunmi said: “We need clarity, coherence, and consistency.