Presidency: Tinubu’s approach to eliminating FX racketeering is strengthening naira

The presidency says President Bola Tinubu’s multi-faceted approach to eliminating foreign exchange (FX) racketeering is strengthening the naira against global currencies.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ajuri Ngelale, special adviser to the president on media, said the country’s financial position will improve, leading to the possibility of Nigerians experiencing a stronger naira and a decrease in the prices of goods.

“The President has been very consistent in his view that the labour pains felt by our people and the incredible sacrifices made by our people over the past 10 months would be rewarded across the board,” Ngelale said.

“The President’s multi-faceted approach to ridding the nation’s foreign exchange market of malign actors and sharp practices has provided a platform for the sustainable strengthening of our national currency against all global currencies and this is what we are seeing.

“As our private and publicly owned refineries resume operations between now and the first quarter of 2025, the nation’s cash position will dramatically improve to the extent that Nigerians can rightly expect a stronger Naira and a fair reflection of its strength in the prices of commodities in the marketplace.”

He, however, said there is still significant work ahead, stating that consumer-protecting regulatory agencies need to intensify enforcement to ensure the prices of goods and services reflect the prevailing exchange rates.

“There is still much work to be done and this is not a time for celebration. It is a time for doubling down and working harder to ensure that inflation is sustainably brought down in short order and that consumer-protecting regulatory agencies step up enforcement to ensure that our people are not short-changed by enterprises that fail to reflect the prevailing exchange rates on the pricing of goods and services across the board,” he said.

Ngelale said Nigerians will be satisfied with the president’s performance by the end of his first term in office, even as the signs are increasingly “more evident” today.

NAIRA ON A REBOUND

The naira has been on a rebound with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) intervening in the parallel market to control the foreign exchange rate movement.

On February 27, CBN sold $20,000 to each BDC at the rate of N1,301/$.

The day before, the naira closed at N1,650/$ at the parallel section of the FX market and at N1,582.94/$ in the official window.

However, on March 25, the apex bank allocated dollars to BDCs at the rate of N1,251/$, and on April 8, CBN cut the rate further to N1,101/$1 when it sold $10,000 to each BDC.

Following the interventions, the naira has been on a resurgence in the parallel and official markets.

As of April 8, the naira closed at N1,120 per dollar at the parallel section and at N1,230.61/$ in the official window.

Meanwhile, the CBN had also implemented several policies in a bid to support naira recovery and boost foreign reserves.

On February 13, CBN directed banks to start paying dollar transactions through international money transfer operators (IMTOs) in naira.

CBN, on April 8, also directed banks to stop the use of foreign currency-denominated collaterals for naira loans.