NNPC $3bn Afreximbank loan: Tinubu a ‘lilliputian economist, lacks ideas’ —Atiku

Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and contender for the presidency under the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 election, has called the $3 billion loan given to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to stable the naira a fraudulent injection into the economy.

According to a statement released on Wednesday by Atiku through his Special Assistant on Public Communications, Mr. Phrank Shaibu, the stated reason for the loan is a hoax to encourage the naira’s appreciation in the black market.

He further added that the move was cosmetic and unimaginative and had once again “Exposed President Bola Tinubu as a Lilliputian economist that lacked ideas on how to rescue the economy he had pushed to the edge with unviable policies.”

According to him, monetary policy is not the job of the NNPCL but the Central Bank of Nigeria and wondered why the former, “Which claimed to be a profit-making organisation, would go ahead to take a loan for the primary purpose of stabilising the naira.”

He also claimed that oil production has dropped on Tinubu’s watch due to continuous oil theft, stressing that instead of boosting forex liquidity by increasing production and exports, “The President decided to take the jejune path of obtaining foreign loans, an inglorious road that his predecessor had travelled.

“For many years, Tinubu claimed that he built the economy of Lagos from scratch. Now, he has been exposed as a charlatan. His administration detained Emefiele and vilified him for taking FX loans from JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs running into $7.5bn, which was used in defending the naira.

“Now, Tinubu’s administration claims to have done the same thing by forcing the NNPCL to take a loan of $3bn to defend the naira. We, however, have it on good authority that this is all a ruse to force the naira to appreciate at the parallel market, an action that will further affect the government’s credibility.

“The NNPCL has failed to shed the toga of an ordinary government agency. No wonder it has refused to become a public limited liability company, as stated in the Petroleum Industry Act. The NNPCL boss, Mele Kyari, who is also desperate to retain his job, has allowed himself to become a willing political tool just like Emefiele. If the NNPCL was a publicly listed oil firm like Aramco and Mobil, would it obtain a loan in order to ‘defend the naira’?”

The African Export-Import Bank on Wednesday granted the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited an emergency $3 billion loan for the repayment of crude oil.

It stated that the oil corporation would use the loan to help the Federal Government stabilise the value of the naira. Additionally, it was learned that the facility will contribute to a decrease in the cost of Premium Motor Spirit, or fuel, at the pump.

The NNPCL announced the acquisition of the $3bn loan in a brief statement issued by the company in Abuja, which was titled, ‘Relief for the naira: NNPC Ltd secures $3bn emergency crude repayment loan from AFREXIM Bank.’

The statement read, “The NNPC Ltd and @afreximbank have jointly signed a commitment letter and term-sheet for an emergency $3bn crude oil repayment loan.

“The signing, which took place today at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilising the exchange rate market.”