According to the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, the N22.7tn printed by the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means overdraft for the Federal Government from 2015 to 2023, under former President Muhammadu Buhari, is responsible for the current inflation in the country.
During an interface with the Senate Committee on Finance, Edun pointed out on Wednesday that the printing of naira in trillions was conducted without any productive activities.
He observed that the high inflation confronting the country now is the result of eight years of printing money without productivity.
Recently, the Senate decided to probe the N30tn Ways and Means overdraft that was obtained and spent by the Buhari administration two weeks ago.
Under Godwin Emefiele, it was further claimed that the excessive spending of the overdraft from the CBN was a major factor in the food and security crises affecting the nation.
The Red Chamber then decided to create an Ad-hoc committee to examine the overdraft, as the spending details were intentionally concealed from the National Assembly.
He assured the committee members that the present government's rollout of various damage-mitigating economic policies would bring about great recoveries in terms of lower inflation rates and improved GDP growth rates in no distant time.
He specifically told the committee members that rather than resorting to money printing or unnecessary loans, the government led by President Bola Tinubu is excelling in revenue generation, having generated over N13tn from the non-oil sector in 2023. He also mentioned ongoing efforts to enhance this trend in 2024.
