The local currency experienced a significant rebound yesterday, appreciating notably against the dollar, propelled by recent interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), as reported by Daily Trust.
From N1,536.83 the previous day, the naira surged to N1,382.35/$ at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), marking a substantial gain that had not been observed for quite some time.
This surge followed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announcement that it had successfully cleared $7bn worth of valid foreign exchange claims, thereby bolstering the country’s forex reserves.
Hakama Sidi-Ali, the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, “The clearance of the foreign exchange transactions backlog is part of the overall strategy detailed in last month’s Monetary Policy Committee meeting to stabilize the exchange rate and thereby curb imported inflation, spurring confidence in the banking system and the economy.”
In addition to the remarkable gain recorded in the official market, the naira also stabilized at the parallel market, trading at N1,500 to a dollar, based on checks conducted by correspondents in Lagos, Abuja, and Kano.
Bureau de Change operators in Lagos confirmed relative stability in the market. Haruna Agege advised individuals holding dollars to consider exchanging them, given the projected appreciation of the local currency in the coming days.
Similarly, BDC operators in Abuja noted a consistent decline in the dollar’s value since the beginning of the week, with Gidado Muktar expressing satisfaction over the appreciating naira.
Meanwhile, in Kano, BDC operators reported buying dollars at N1,490 and selling them to customers at N1,500, a notable drop from the previous rate of N1,520.
However, despite CBN’s claim of clearing all verified backlogs, there is still controversy surrounding the funds of foreign airlines, with some claiming their funds remain trapped in commercial banks. Dr. Kingsley Nwokoma, President of the Association of Foreign Airline Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN), emphasized that the issue of foreign airlines’ trapped funds remains unresolved.
