SHOCKING!!! Nigeria’s Economy To Shut Down, A Few Hours After Buhari’s Speech, As Top Businessmen Describe The Broadcast As EMPTY

Nigerians have reacted with mixed feelings to President Muhammadu Buhari’s address to the nation on Monday, two days after he returned from a medical vacation in the United Kingdom, UK.

The speech which lasted only for 6 minutes, failed to address issues bordering on the Nigerian economy, which many have said was on the state of recovering, before Buhari’s dramatic arrival.

Many Businessmen, who spoke on Monday, described the President’s speech as “empty”, stating that Buhari’s refusal to address the issue of the economy in his speech, is a bad signal that the economy may return to its despicable state.

Recall, that the financial market operators and investors, both local and international, were waiting anxiously to take dramatic investment decisions, based on Buhari’s speech direction.

The wait was based on an assessment by Financial Experts, that the socio-political economy of the country has recorded significant progress in Buhari’s absence, which stands to be validated or reversed by his speech and subsequent decisions.

The foreign exchange market has witnessed changes that brought about the relative stability of the naira, and businesses are gradually rebounding with improved numbers, as reforms picked up before Buhari’s arrival.

At the weekend, the financial market that had long been in high gear, saw the Interbank’s overnight lending rate falling to an average of 12 percent, from 60 percent a week ago.

This was a result of the repayment of matured treasury bills, and a refund of excess cash deposited by banks to buy dollars, by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

CBN had sold $100 million at its special intervention auction in the foreign exchange market earlier in the week, less than the amount demanded by banks, leading to a refund of the excess deposits.

Consequently, the parallel market rate remained at N366 per dollar, while the interbank official rate remains below N306 per dollar, and the investors and exporters’ window priced the naira at N367 per dollar.

Also, the All-Share Index of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, rose by 1.66 percent at 36,920 points, after bargain hunters returned to take positions in the financial sector stocks.

Frontline economist, Bismarck Rewane, said everything was pegged on his broadcast today, which would be highly priced, as long as it is in a positive direction.

“Acting President, Yemi Osinbajo, has done a great job so far, Buhari only needs to sustain it, perhaps building more on it. By his speech today, we would need to get a new sense of direction in plugging leakages.

“The market is ready to respond, and it will be positive as long as the content of the speech is positive too. So, let the activities begin”, Rewane said.

The Managing Director of Afrinvest Securities Limited, Ayodeji Eboh, said the market was anxious to know the content of the broadcast, as investment decisions are always responsive to information and its meanings.

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