How Buhari’s 8yrs of Printing Money Caused Inflation, Tinubu’s Minister Speaks

• Wale Edu, the minister of finance, has linked the current economic crisis to the wrong decision made by ex-President Muhammadu Buhari
• The coordinating minister of economy accused the Buhari's government of printing money without logic
• The minister noted that the consequences of Buhari's actions have resulted in Nigeria's current hardship

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

On Wednesday, March 6, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, levelled a serious allegation against former President Muhammadu Buhari as inflation hit an all-time high in the country.

The minister said that the N22.7tn printed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through Ways and Means overdraft for the federal government of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023, under Buhari landed Nigeria into hyperinflation bedeviling it now.

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As reported by The Punch, Edun, made this disclosure on Wednesday during an interface with the Senate Committee on Finance. He said that during the period, the printing of naira in trillions was carried out without matching it with productivity.

The minister added that the consequence of the eight years of printing money without productivity is high inflation confronting the country currently, Daily Trust reported.

Two weeks ago, the Senate resolved to probe the N30tn Ways and Means spent by the Buhari-led Federal Government, which, according to it, was recklessly spent.

At the Wednesday session, Edun said:

“We talked about inflation, and you have helped to solve that. Where has it come from?

“It came from eight years of just printing money not matched by productivity. It’s not like when you earn dollars, and you free the naira alongside it, although there’s even a better way than that. But that’s still not as bad.

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“It’s not as if the money is matched by productivity increase in output. It is not. And what happened was that for eight years, the weak were left to their own devices. It is the privileged few that took everything. That’s the reality so that money supply must be brought back.”

He, however, assured the committee members that various damage-mitigating economic policies being rolled out by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's government, would in no distant time, bring about great recoveries in terms of lower Inflation rate and improved GDP growth rate.

Inflation: “Approach Zimbabwe for solution,” Obasanjo tells Tinubu

Meanwhile, on Monday, March 4, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, advised Nigeria under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to approach the government of Zimbabwe for a solution to the country's rising inflation.

He noted that since Zimbabwe was recently confronted with the same problem and came out of it, the southern African country would have useful advice for Nigeria.

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Obasanjo said the times of challenges were not to give up but to face the problem head-on. He urged Bola Tinubu's led federal government to draw lessons from those who encountered similar problems in the past and overcame them.

Source: Legit.ng