According to a listing on Aboki Forex, a website that provides users with information about the exchange rates at which various currencies are traded on both official and unofficial markets, the naira, which on Monday and Wednesday traded for N620 and N630, respectively, against the dollar, has dropped to N645 as of Thursday afternoon.
The pressure on demand from end users who were unable to buy dollars from the banks due to shortages led to the depreciation of the naira.
Despite all the foreign exchange measures put in place by the monetary authority to stem the flow, Nigerian economists/analysts claim there are no immediate remedies to the naira devaluation.
“For those taking money from banks to buy dollars, it is illegal to do so. If the security agencies hold you, you will know the implication of that,” Godwin Emefiele, CBN governor, said Tuesday at the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Lagos.
Mr. Emefiele encouraged Nigerians who were illegally converting naira for dollars to desist, saying that the apex bank would look into the matter and prohibit individuals found guilty from using Nigerian banks for financial operations.
Mr. Emefiele revealed the central bank’s oversight of clients and financial institutions while announcing that it would punish banks found engaging in illicit activity.
The warning came as a result of the central bank’s efforts to stop further declines in the value of the naira and the state of the nation’s economy.
The CBN also stopped conducting foreign exchange business with bureaux de change in July 2021.
As a result of the CBN’s strict forex restrictions, several deposit money banks decreased the overseas spending limit on naira cards to $20 per month, making it harder for citizens to undertake foreign transactions.
The parallel market, according to the apex bank, does not fairly represent the nation’s exchange rate economy.
However, the naira’s decline from N588 to N645 versus the dollar from May to today has continued to drive up the cost of goods and services all around the nation.
Joshua is a multidisciplinary creative and tech enthusiast who seeks to create meaningful experiences that make for a better and more equal world. He is a creative entrepreneur and human rights activist whose work navigates socio-cultural discourse and how it can be used as a vehicle for change.
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