Tinubu’s FX reforms position Naira as export engine — Yakubu

The Director-General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Mr Tanimu Yakubu, has said President Bola Tinubu’s foreign exchange reforms have repositioned the Naira as a driver of competitiveness rather than a symbol of weakness.

Yakubu, in a statement released over the weekend, recalled that the administration’s decision to scrap Nigeria’s multiple exchange rate windows in 2024 initially sent the Naira into a steep decline, sparking fears of economic collapse.

He noted that the currency fell to N1,800 per dollar in March 2024, with critics branding it a “worthless Naira.”

“However, what appeared to be a collapse was in fact a reset. It was a deliberate recalibration of our foreign exchange market,” Yakubu said.

According to him, by August 2025, the Naira had strengthened to N1,525 per dollar, marking a 15.28 per cent appreciation in five months.

He attributed the recovery to increased oil receipts, robust diaspora remittances, and the clearance of over four billion Naira worth of foreign exchange backlogs.

Yakubu said that unifying the FX market was a crucial step that created a single transparent exchange rate and restored investor confidence.

He explained that the most significant impact could be seen in the export sector, where Nigerian products had become more affordable internationally.

“With a realistic exchange rate, our cocoa, sesame, and even processed chocolate became cheaper in New York, Mumbai, or São Paulo without local producers earning less,” he said.

Data from the Budget Office revealed that non-oil exports climbed from $2.696 billion in the first half of 2024 to $3.225 billion in the same period of 2025.

Export volumes also increased, rising from 3.83 million metric tonnes to 4.04 million metric tonnes, which confirmed that foreign buyers were purchasing more goods, not simply paying higher prices.

Yakubu described this trend as a “sweet spot” for the economy, where exporters earned more in Naira terms, international buyers paid less in dollar terms, and the overall economy benefited from increased inflows.

“This is a virtuous cycle,” he explained. “FX reform leads to a realistic Naira, which makes our goods competitive. That drives exports, and the resulting inflows strengthen the currency further.”

He added that the reforms had transformed the Naira into a tool for growth, attracting trade and investment.

“If Nigeria stays the course, the narrative of the Naira will not centre on collapse and recovery but on reinvention, an economy leveraging its currency as a catalyst for global competitiveness,” Yakubu said.