Nigeria’s naira on Wednesay fell to a record low of N1,350 per dollar following strong demand on the parallel market, also known as the black market.
There are indications that respite may still be far for the embattled local currency and by extention the economy where naira is fast losing its value on daily basis.
On Thursday morning, the search for the elusive greenback continued, even on the popular Allen Avenue, Ikeja, Lagos as it became obvious that it was only the highest bidders that could access the dollar through ‘special arrangemwnt’ a development that resulted in emergence of fake foreign currencies being mixed with the real ones.
The banks were not helping matters as the officials were still heaping the blames on CBN for not making it available.
But MBN investigations revealed that more Searchlight needs to be beamed on activities of the banks as well as entrenched interests in the industry if the embarassing situation was to be tackled.
Specifically, the depreciation represents over 3 percent weaker than N1,280 recorded at the close of trading on Tuesday.
This depreciation marks the lowest the Naira has come to since October 26, 2023, when it reached N1,300 against the dollar on the parallel market.
On Wednesday, January 10, 2023, foreign exchange turnover on the I&E Window was $242.60m, this crashed to $26.37m on Monday 15, 2023.
This is despite the recent announcement the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has gotten $2.25bn of a $3.3bn oil-for-cash loan facility from the African Export-Import Bank to boost FX liquidity.
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Commenting on the fund, Afreximbank President and Chairman of the Board of Directors, Professor Benedict Oramah, said; “The disbursement of the initial $2.25bn under the facility will support Nigeria’s long-term economic stability, ease access to import financing for raw materials and essential goods, and support industrialisation and trade development efforts.
“We are pleased that despite the typical year-end pressures, our partners and investors committed the funds required in record time. We thank them for their support.”
The NNPCL Group Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Mele Kyari, noted, “the proceeds of the facility have been made available to the Federal Republic of Nigeria as one of several efforts towards improving macro-economic stability.
“The participation of global, international, and regional syndication firms is a further testament to the lending market’s appetite for financing sponsored by NNPCL and signifies solid market confidence in Nigeria.”
