President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has said he could have chosen to maintain the hitherto multiple foreign exchange rates and benefit from it but instead, he opted to unify the official and parallel market rates to save the country from financial haemorrhage.
President Tinubu said he took the decision in the nation’s best interest just like he did with fuel subsidy removal.
He stated this on Thursday at a reception organised in his honour by the Lagos State Government at the Lagos House, Marina.
“I could afford to share the benefit by participating in the arbitrage, but God forbid! That’s not why you voted for me,” Tinubu was quoted as saying in a statement by his media aide, Dele Alake.
The President said it was imperative to take those decisive actions in the early days of his administration.
He also explained that his administration decided to stop the immediate payment of subsidy on petrol in the nation’s best interest.
During his inaugural speech on May 29, the President said that the era of subsidy payment on fuel has ended, a situation that forced queues in filling stations to sprung up across major parts of the country.
The President said it was imperative to take those decisive actions in the early days of his administration.
He said, “We need to take the steps to stop the bleeding of our finances through speedy action on fuel subsidy. We have no choice.
“We will work together with an open-door policy. We will bring Nigeria from the brink of a resilient economy. I want us to be partners so that we can rescue our land and make it a born-again nation.”