Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Tax Policy and Fiscal Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, has dismissed claims that the recent sell-off in the Nigerian capital market was triggered by foreign investors reacting to U.S. President Donald Trump’s comments about Nigeria.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Business Morning, Oyedele explained that the fluctuations in the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) were part of normal market cycles rather than politically driven sell-offs.
“The capital market is always an up-and-down situation,” he said. “Even after the sell-off yesterday, returns are still slim to about 40 per cent, and in dollar terms, about 50 per cent. This remains one of the best-performing markets in the world, and we want it to do even better. But there is no market where things continue to always go up.”
He noted that investors tend to take profits after extended periods of gains, leading to momentary declines, which should not be misinterpreted as panic reactions.
“The problem we created,” he said, “is that after a long run of gains and a few days of declines, people started attributing it to two things: the capital gains tax, which is not correct, and Trump’s issue with Nigeria over the genocide comment.”
Oyedele added that if any sell-offs had indeed been influenced by Trump’s comments, “those people should be foreign investors, because Nigerian investors will not sell off because of Trump. Otherwise, where will they take the investments to?”
He emphasised that since foreign investors were not exiting the market, the recent dip could not be attributed to external political tensions.
“It’s just a normal market cycle where prices go up and down. Once we attribute them wrongly, it drives unnecessary sentiment,” he said.
Trump, in an explosive post on his Truth Social platform on November 2, ordered the Pentagon to map out a possible plan of attack in Nigeria, one day after warning that Christianity was “facing an existential threat” in Africa’s most populous country.
In his post, Trump said that if Nigeria does not stem the killings, the United States will attack and “it will be fast, vicious, and sweet, just like the terrorist thugs attack our CHERISHED Christians.”
Two weeks ago, President Trump reiterated his threat of possible military operations in Nigeria over the alleged killings of Christians
When asked aboard Air Force One if he was considering U.S. troops or air strikes, Trump said, “Could be, I envisage a lot of things.”
The U.S. President’s declaration has since sparked widespread reactions from political and diplomatic circles.
The Federal Government on Tuesday said it is holding talks with authorities of the United States over the military threat by President Trump.
The Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, disclosed this during an interview on Sky News.
He revealed that diplomatic channels are proving effective towards rapprochement in the tense relationship between the government of the United States and Nigeria.
“Channels of communication have been opened. I can confirm that we are talking with them, and I think they are understanding the situation better,” Idris said.
“We believe that most of the information is a result of a lack of a proper understanding of the diversity and complexity of the problem we have at hand.”
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