Nigeria’s governing party, the All Progressives Congress, APC says there is nothing wrong with the Central Bank of Nigeria printing currency to bail the government.
The APC National Secretary, Caretaker and Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee, Senator John Akpanudoedehe said this in a press statement in reaction to claims by Edo state Governor Godwin Obaseki and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP that the government printed N50-N60 billion to bridge the shortfall in revenue distribution in Nigeria in March 2021.
The APC said there is no evidence that the Apex bank mismanaged Nigeria’s finances and should be allowed to do its job.
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“Central banks all over the world print money. During the financial crisis of 2008-09, the Reserve Bank of the US printed dollars to bail out companies that were too big to fail. There is nothing wrong in printing money provided it is well managed.
“There is no evidence that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is inefficient in managing the monetary aspect of the Nigerian economy. Let us not forget that the CBN is banker to government and has exercised such function efficiently and effectively.
“The development function of the CBN has resulted in various intervention funds in several sectors of the economy. The All Progressives Congress (APC) inherited an economy which showed signs of a recession from 2012. The economy left by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had no forex to run the system. The looting of our commonwealth was unprecedented in history. Productivity was declining.
“The APC government implemented aggressive fiscal and monetary polices which resulted in the country’s economy exiting recession in 2016. The economy was back on the path of positive growth trajectory. Then came the global health pandemic and sharp decline in oil prices throwing the economy into another recession. The quick intervention of the APC government through the Economic Sustainability Plan fast-tracked the recovery from recession to the shock and surprise of the Intenational Monentary Fund (IMF), World Bank and other stakeholders.
“Whether the CBN prints money or not is not an issue. The Apex Bank should be allowed to perform its mandate. The CBN has several ways of creating ‘new’ money. The evidence suggests that money supply in the economy is at the appropriate level. The PDP needs to understand how money is created as well as provide evidence showing the composition of M1, M2 and M3 in the Nigerian economy,” the statement read.
The APC called on the PDP to join them in moving the country forward rather than making statements that create more trouble.
Zainab Sa’id
