The Labour Party (LP) has taken a swipe at President Bola Tinubu for announcing financial rewards for Nigeria’s female team, the Super Falcons, in U.S. dollars, following their 3-2 victory over host Morocco in the finals of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). 

Nenadi Usman, the interim national chairman of the LP, in a statement on Tuesday, said it was “utterly shameful” that Mr Tinubu chose to reward the female football team with the international currency, rather than the naira.

Mr Usman, in the statement released by his spokesman, Ken Asogwa, noted that watching Mr Tinubu on the national TV announce the female team would receive financial rewards equivalent to $100,000 was not only nauseating but also 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 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,” he said. 

Mr Usman noted that a “president who openly shies away from promoting his national currency sends a dangerous message to the world and to his citizens,” saying Mr Tinubu’s action showed that the naira is not worth defending. 

He stated, “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 per cent year-to-date. 

“This has been attributed to surging demand for the U.S. dollar and an eroded confidence in the naira, the actual practice the president has been busy abetting.”

He further queried, “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?”

Mr Tinubu had hosted the female football team to a reception, approving a cash award of the naira equivalent of $100,000 to each of the 24 players and $50,000 to each technical team member.

He also conferred national honours on all the players and the 11-member technical team, following their historic victory at the 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) in Morocco.

The president also directed the allocation of one three-bedroom apartment to each player and technical crew member in the government’s Renewed Hope Housing Scheme.