2015: We Will Not Allow Election Spending To Affect Nigeria’s Economic Fortunes – CBN Governor

Central Bank Governor (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has allayed fears that the 2015 General Elections would affect Nigeria’s economy and deplete the country’s forex reserves.

According to Emefiele, who spoke in New York, Wednesday, at the Africa Business Summit, Nigeria’s economy is doing well and not even the 2015 general elections will be allowed to take it down.

Leading financial services provider Renaissance Capital (RenCap) had in February predicted a decline in foreign exchange reserves, citing sub-par oil production and higher imports due to election-related spending.

However, the CBN has been able to rise above the constraints to peg reserves at $41 billion, $6 billion higher than RenCap’s forecast of $35 billion at this period. Nigeria’s cuurrent reserves, according to Emefiele is the highest in Africa.

“People are generally expecting crude prices to drop and maybe there will be reduction in production and crude prices will fall,” the CBN governor noted, but added that with $41 billion reserve supporting imports and production for the next seven to eight months, “Nigeria’s economy is doing very well and 2015 will not be different.”

Speaking further at the high level international forum on Africa’s investment climate and market, themed “Africa is Rising, There Are Challenges, Still We Rise”, Emefiele doused any doubts investors may have about Nigeria, encouraging them to invest in the country as the GDP is consistently increasing.

“Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell 18 percent year-on-year, although it climbed 3.8 per cent in July to 38.49 billion dollars.

“Investors became nervous after the suspension of former Central Bank Governor, Lamido Sanusi in February, and ahead of presidential elections in February 2015 but I assure you we are in a comfortable position,” Emefiele said.