THE presidency is hopeful for an improvement in the value of the naira and is urging currency speculators to sell off their supply of dollars.
The Nigerian naira has recently depreciated against major currencies like the dollar, trading at $1 to N1,500 in the parallel market.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has recently resolved the country’s foreign exchange backlog from the previous administration, a move that Presidential aide Bayo Onanuga believes will lead to the naira gaining value.
In a statement made yesterday, Onanuga advised currency speculators to quickly sell their dollars to avoid losses, as the naira is expected to appreciate further with the FX backlog cleared.
This follows the CBN’s announcement that $7 billion in foreign exchange backlog has been settled.
CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, mentioned that an independent auditing firm was employed to review the transactions to ensure only legitimate claims were processed, with any suspicious transactions referred for further investigation.
In recent months, Nigerian authorities have cracked down on forex speculators and Bureau de Change operators to stabilize the naira.
The CBN has also ended the segmentation of forex markets, consolidating transactions under the “Investors and Exporters” category and allowing trading at a market rate determined by buyers and sellers.
These changes are part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to implement reforms aimed at rejuvenating Nigeria’s economy.
