The naira has further depreciated in the black market and is now trading for N710 to the dollar on the Aboki Forex exchange website.

According to reports on Wednesday, the exchange rate on the black market is set at N710 to the dollar.

As of Friday afternoon, data from Aboki Forex showed that the national currency, which on Monday was trading for N670 versus the dollar, had dropped even more by 6.7 percent in two days.

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) banned the sale of foreign currency to bureau de change operators a year prior to today’s record decline.

Due to their illicit sales of foreign exchange above the market, they were authorized to serve, the BDC operators’ purchases of foreign currency had previously been restricted by the central bank.

BDC operators were a significant part of the black market before the prohibition, helping people who couldn’t legally get foreign currency directly from the CBN to maintain their exchange rates.

The BDC operators’ inability to obtain foreign currency from the CBN has had a significant negative impact on the nation’s economy by increasing pressure on the local currency.

The currency exchange rate was approximately N501 to a dollar when CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele forbade the sale of foreign currency to BDC. However, the value of the naira fell to N670 to the dollar a year following the prohibition.

The apex bank threatened to detain and prosecute Nigerians last week who were using naira to purchase dollars in an effort to further restrict the flow of foreign exchange in the parallel market.

However, Mr. Emefiele has come under fire for neglecting to implement measures that would have helped to stabilize the value of the nation’s currency on the foreign exchange market.

Since Godwin Emefiele took over as governor of the central bank in March 2014, the value of the naira versus the dollar at the Investors and Exporters window has dropped from N164 to N430 on Wednesday.

The Naira dropped from N180 to the dollar in 2014 to N710 on Wednesday in the parallel market.

Joshua Ononose

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.