Africa’s largest economy in deep cash shortage
According to news on March 1, in the early morning of March 1 local time, the Chairman of the Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria, Jacob announced that Bola Tinubu, the candidate of the Progressive Congress Party of the ruling party and former governor of Lagos State, was elected the new president of the country.
In the early hours of March 1, local time, the National Independent Electoral Commission of Nigeria announced the results of the presidential election. The Progressive Congress Party candidate of the ruling party and former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu won 8.806 million votes. First place, followed by People’s Democratic Party candidate, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, and Labor Party candidate, former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi with 6.985 million votes and 6.063 million votes. Bola Tinubu’s support rate in 29 states exceeds 25%, which is in line with the condition stipulated in the Nigerian Constitution that at least 24 states have a support rate of 25%.
According to a report on February 26, Nigeria held presidential elections and national assembly elections on February 25. According to data from the Nigerian National Independent Electoral Commission, there were more than 93 million registered voters in this general election, of which more than 87 million received their voter cards in time and were eligible to vote on the 25th.
New and old currency swap plan creates a cash crunch
According to previous reports, in October 2022, the Central Bank of Nigeria announced that it would redesign some denominations of Naira banknotes. In November, the Nigerian President showed a sample of the newly designed Naira. On December 15, the Central Bank of Nigeria stated that the new banknotes will come into circulation from that day onwards, suggesting that the public take the old banknotes to the bank for exchange. The Central Bank of Nigeria announced that the deadline for the exchange of old and new currencies is January 31, after which the old banknotes will be invalidated. February 10, local time, is the original deadline for the exchange of old and new currencies by the Central Bank of Nigeria, after which the old Naira will lose its status as a legal currency. In order to curb inflation, the Central Bank of Nigeria has raised the Monetary Policy Rate five times since 2022. The local media also called it the benchmark lending rate of 17.5%, the highest level since the rate was introduced in 2006.
In 2022, the country’s inflation rate will rise for 11 consecutive months. In November, the inflation rate climbed to 21.47%, the highest level in nearly 17 years. Although the inflation rate eased slightly to 21.34% in December, the overall inflation rate was still 5.72% higher than the 15.63% recorded in December of the previous year. In 2021, the Nigerian economy will struggle to get out of recession. After experiencing the impact of Covid-19 and unfavorable situations such as fuel shortages and soaring inflation in 2022, the Nigerian economy still shows strong growth momentum. The International Monetary Fund predicts that Nigeria’s GDP in 2022 will reach 574 billion US dollars, and it will continue to maintain its leading position in the economic rankings of African countries.
In the World Economic Outlook released by the agency in January this year, Nigeria was listed as one of the five most noteworthy countries in the south of the Sahara, and the GDP growth rate of Nigeria in 2023 was raised from 3.0% to 3.2% in October last year. The old and new currency swap scheme promoted by the Nigerian central bank has caused a cash shortage, affecting business activities and daily life, and social anger and frustration are accumulating.
The security situation remains complex and severe
According to a previous report, Nigeria is located in the southeastern part of West Africa, bordering the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It has a superior geographical location and is one of the ancient civilizations in Africa. Nigeria is the leader in West Africa and plays a pivotal role in Africa. It is the most populous country in Africa, with a total population of 198 million, accounting for 18% of Africa’s total population. It is also the largest economy in Africa. In recent years, the political situation in Nigeria has generally remained stable, but there are still many unstable factors. Boko Haram has been defeated but not destroyed, militants in the southern oil-producing areas continue to destroy oil and gas facilities, there are many public security cases such as kidnapping and robbery, and pirates in the Gulf of Guinea continue to harass Nigeria. The situation is still complex and severe.
