Former House of Representatives Speaker Yakubu Dogara has blamed the naira’s devaluation on the previous administration’s policy of printing and injecting N22.7 trillion into the economy. Speaking at the inaugural parliamentary lecture of the House of Representatives Press Corps (HORPC) on Tuesday, themed ‘Navigating Tax Reforms in Nigeria: Insights on President Tinubu’s Policies,’ Dogara criticized the economic policies under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
He accused the Buhari administration of operating a dual exchange rate system that enriched a select few, who profited massively from Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) forex allocations without contributing goods or services. Dogara described these policies, including securing foreign loans to prop up the naira, as unsustainable “voodoo economics.” He noted that forward sales of crude tied to loans further destabilized the economy, leaving it on the verge of collapse when President Bola Tinubu took office.
Dogara emphasized that Tinubu’s tax reforms, including repealing outdated tax laws and implementing “revolutionary” proposals from the Taiwo Oyedele-led Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reform, were critical responses to the inherited economic challenges. He suggested that opposition to these reforms stemmed from a desire to see Tinubu’s administration fail.
As chairman of the National Credit Guarantee Company (NCGC), Dogara stressed the importance of contextualizing Tinubu’s reforms, which he said were not arbitrary but necessary to address the economic fallout from the previous administration’s policies.
