DUE TO THE FX CRISIS, MTN, DANGOTE, BUA, FBN HOLDING, AND OTHERS LOSE N1.6 TRILLION.

In what was first praised as a brave move, President Bola Tinubu’s administration eliminated gasoline subsidies and unified Nigeria’s foreign exchange markets, winning accolades from all around the world for demonstrating political will.
In the most populous country in Africa, these reforms have been hailed by former World Bank president David Malpass as “important steps toward currency stability, lower inflation, and reduced corruption.”

The harsh working environment these reforms unintentionally produced for firms in Nigeria, however, has eclipsed the reforms’ expected benefits.

Leading pharmaceutical maker GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) Consumer Nigeria Plc has stopped operations, citing FX difficulties as the main cause, according to TheCable.

The pharmaceutical behemoth Sanofi-Aventis Nigeria Limited swiftly followed suit, ceasing operations three months later, indicating a general pattern of hardship among both local and foreign enterprises.

A year and a half after these measures were put into place, the promised increased standard of living and a stable naira have not materialized.

Nigerians’ already tight finances are being further compressed as inflation creeps closer to the 30% threshold. The local currency fell from N461 per dollar in December 2022 to N907 by December 2023, a major impact on enterprises’ profit margins despite government efforts to stabilize the economy.