The Labour Party, under the interim leadership of Senator Nenadi Usman, has criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for opting to reward the Super Falcons in US dollars rather than in Nigeria’s local currency.
In a statement released by Ken Asogwa, the Senior Special Adviser (Media) to the Interim National Chairman, the party expressed disappointment, calling the decision both “unpatriotic” and “utterly shameful.”
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According to the Labour Party, it was disheartening to see the president, who is expected to be the foremost advocate for the Nigerian Naira, publicly reward the national women’s football team in a foreign currency.
“Watching the president, on national television, announce that the victorious Super Falcons would receive financial rewards ‘equivalent to $100,000’ was not only nauseating but deeply unpatriotic.
“Even if, as some may argue, he meant the Naira equivalent, the symbolic elevation of the dollar over our national currency by the Commander-in-Chief is a damning indictment of his administration’s economic mindset.
“This act speaks volumes about the level of disdain and lack of faith this government has in the Naira – the very symbol of our economic sovereignty. Perhaps, at this rate, we should expect the national budget to soon be presented in dollars, or worse still, in a basket of foreign currencies.”
The party further accused the Tinubu-led administration of surrendering in its responsibility to stabilise the Naira, blaming it for the currency’s sharp decline in the foreign exchange market.
“The Tinubu administration, having supervised the free fall of the Naira – from an already precarious N500 to over N1,500 to the dollar – appears to have thrown in the towel.
“A president who openly shies away from promoting his national currency sends a dangerous message to the world and to his citizens: that the Naira is not worth defending.”
The Labour Party referenced a recent World Bank report highlighting the Naira’s poor performance in Sub-Saharan Africa, pointing to the rising demand for the dollar as a key factor behind the currency’s decline.
“It is no surprise, therefore, that the World Bank, in its latest review, listed the Naira among the worst-performing currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa – depreciating by approximately 43% year-to-date.
“This has been attributed to surging demand for the US dollar and an eroded confidence in the Naira, the actual practice the president has been busy abetting.
“When the highest office in the land sets such a tone, what moral ground do we stand on to call on others to have faith in our currency? If this is not patriotism in reverse, then what is?”
