Forex crisis: Be patient, BUA chair tells Nigerians

Forex crisis: Be patient, BUA chair tells Nigerians

Chairman of the BUA Group, Abdulsamad Rabiu, on Tuesday, appealed to the Nigerian business community to exercise patience with the Bola Tinubu administration as it works to stabilise the foreign exchange market.

Rabiu insisted that the BUA Group had slashed the price of a bag of cement from N4,500 to N3,500.

“So I believe we should just be a bit patient; things are already getting better. If you check, you’ll see that the exchange rate in the black market has gone to as high as N1,300 to $1; today, it’s about N1,150 and it will continue to come down,” he told State House Correspondents after he emerged from closed-door talks with President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.

Rabiu described Tinubu’s decision to unify the FOREX window as a difficult but necessary step to stabilise the economy.

“There are a lot of issues, uncertainties, and panic that is settling and we’re seeing a situation where the exchange rate is coming down because once it gets to a level where people are not able to afford it, nobody will buy and if you don’t buy, it will come down.

“So my message is that we should be patient; things will definitely get better. Nigeria is endowed with huge resources; we’re a country of over 220 million people with huge resources across the country,” he reasoned.

He disclosed details of his discussion with President Tinubu, saying, “During my discussions with Mr. President, I could see the passion, I could see the burning desire, the commitment in him to deliver, but again, Mr. President alone cannot do it, we need to come and support him to ensure that he delivers. I believe I’m speaking the minds of all Nigerians by that.”

Rabiu insisted that his company had fulfilled its promise to reduce cement prices from N4500 to N3,500.

“It is actually taking effect,” he said, adding, “The price of cement from BUA Group has been reduced from N4,500 to N3,500 per bag; it is happening; as a matter of fact, I just discussed the issue of cement with His Excellency, Mr President.”

He revealed that BUA is commissioning two more cement production bases before December 31, 2023, and in January 2024.

“We’ll have additional volumes and once that happens, the price of cement will go down, lower than what we have across the country and we’re ready to do that, we’re ready to support,” he promised.

Rabiu said he was at the State House to congratulate President Tinubu on his recent victory at the Supreme Court, saying that the ruling had laid all uncertainties surrounding the presidential election to rest.

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