Meanwhile Nigeria annual GDP growth in the second quarter was less than
\nhalf that of a year earlier as low oil prices, combined with months of
\nuncertainty around the March general elections, took their toll. The naira
\nhas lost around 15 percent in the last year, with devaluations in November
\nand February. Some people fear another may be coming, even though central
\nbank governor Godwin Emefiele has said the currency is gap propriately
\npricedh.<\/p>\n
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has made sweeping changes in the oil
\nsector and armed forces during his first 100 days in office but done
\nlittle to convince experts that he has a clear strategy for Africafs
\nbiggest economy.<\/p>\n
Buhari, a former military ruler, made Nigerian history in March by
\nbecoming the first candidate to defeat an incumbent president at the
\npolls, after promising to crack down on corruption and crush a bloody
\ninsurgency by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram.<\/p>\n
Revelers in the capital Abuja celebrated his inauguration in May by
\nchanting gSai Babah, which means gAll hail, fatherh in the Hausa
\nlanguage of northern Nigeria.<\/p>\n
As Buhari prepares to mark 100 days in office on Saturday, his critics are
\nnow using the less flattering sobriquet gBaba Go Slowh.<\/p>\n
Chief amongst their complaints is the 72-year-oldfs decision not to
\nappoint a cabinet until later this month, putting the economic policy of
\nthe country of 170 million people in limbo, and leaving the likes of the
\ncentral bank to fill the vacuum.<\/p>\n
Buharifs supporters say he has needed time to analyze the inner workings
\nof ministries that have been run exclusively by the Peoplefs Democratic
\nParty (PDP) since the return to civilian rule in 1999.<\/p>\n
They point to his restructuring of the state oil company NNPC, whose board
\nBuhari sacked in June, when he appointed an ExxonMobil executive as
\nmanaging director. Crude oil sales account for around 70 percent of
\nNigeriafs state revenues, and NNPC has been accused of failing to account
\nfor tens of billions of dollars in the last few years.<\/p>\n
GOVERNMENT gBOTTLENECKh<\/p>\n
But a Western diplomat said the last few months, in which Buhari has
\ngoverned alone with briefings by civil servants, had caused a
\ngbottleneckh because he had failed to delegate authority.<\/p>\n
gThe absence of a cabinet, a team c has made it hard for him to set out
\na specific program,h added the diplomat, who did not want to be named.<\/p>\n
Buhari says he found the treasury gvirtually emptyh, forcing him to deal
\nwith inherited problems as his first priority. gWhen the ministers are
\nappointed, some will constitute an economic team and then formulate a
\npolicy,h Buharifs spokesman, Femi Adesina, said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Nigeriafs annual GDP growth in the second quarter was less than
\nhalf that of a year earlier as low oil prices, combined with months of
\nuncertainty around the March general elections, took their toll.<\/p>\n
The naira has lost around 15 percent in the last year, with devaluations
\nin November and February. Some people fear another may be coming, even
\nthough central bank governor Godwin Emefiele has said the currency is
\ngappropriately pricedh.<\/p>\n
In June, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), trying to save reserves,
\nannounced that importers would no longer be able to secure hard currency
\non the interbank market to buy items ranging from rice, toothpicks and
\nsoap to cement and private jets.<\/p>\n
But the resulting shortage of dollars has weakened the naira further.<\/p>\n
gThe fact that the CBN has been allowed to take steps that look more like
\nfiscal policy decisions is a source of major concern,h said Muda Yusuf,
\ndirector general of the Lagos chamber of commerce.<\/p>\n
gThe president doesnft seem to appreciate the enormity of the disruption
\nthat the CBN policy on foreign exchange is causing in the economy,h he
\nsaid, adding that international trade had been hit and some firms had lost
\ntheir credit lines.<\/p>\n
LITTLE INVESTMENT<\/p>\n
Others say the lack of direction has also weighed on foreign investment,
\nalready depressed by a slowdown in Chinafs economy and the prospect of a
\nlooming U.S. interest rate rise.<\/p>\n
gWhat you have is an environment in which there is very little by way of
\ninvestment happening,h said Fola Fagbule, a Lagos-based infrastructure
\ninvestor focused on Africa.<\/p>\n
Although he has prioritized the oil sector, Buhari, who is expected to
\nkeep the petroleum portfolio for himself when he names his cabinet, has so
\nfar shied away from scrapping an expensive and fraud-ridden fuel subsidy
\nscheme.<\/p>\n
And some moves, such as banning around 100 foreign oil tankers from
\nNigerian waters, have been imposed with little or no explanation.<\/p>\n
There is, however, praise for Buharifs high-profile campaign against
\ncorruption, a recurring problem in Nigerian public life which he estimates
\nhas led to $150 billion being stolen from state coffers in the past
\ndecade.<\/p>\n
Razia Khan, head of Africa research for Standard Chartered bank, said a
\ndirective for ministries to start paying revenue earned directly into a
\nsingle Treasury account was ga huge step forwardh for transparency and
\none of the successes of Buharifs first 100 days.<\/p>\n
The president has taken a hands-on approach to security challenges by
\nreplacing defense chiefs and the national security adviser.<\/p>\n
And he has repaired relations with neighboring countries to set up an
\n8,700-strong regional task force to fight Boko Haram, which has killed
\nthousands of people in the northeast since 2009 and driven 1.5 million
\nothers from their homes.<\/p>\n
But the jihadists, who scattered after a military counter-offensive in the
\nlast weeks of president Goodluck Jonathanfs administration, have
\nnevertheless killed around 800 people in bombings and shootings since
\nBuhari came to power.<\/p>\n
(Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Kevin Liffey)<\/p>\n
Source: Reuters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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