‘There’ll be ups and downs’ — CBN says it’s working to stabilise naira

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it is doing everything possible to achieve a stable foreign exchange (FX) rate.

Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, spoke on April 20 during a press conference held at the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group.

He said the financial regulator is also working to ensure that the exchange rate finds its adequate price discovery level. 

“Again, to be honest, I think we should expect that there will be increases here and there, ups and downs and even from what you’ve reported yesterday, from what I gather, the naira has begun strengthening overnight,” he said.

“So I think the most important thing to say here is that we are doing everything possible to ensure that we have a stable exchange rate and an exchange rate that finds its adequate price discovery level.” 

He said the local currency will continue to appreciate against foreign currencies.

On diaspora remittances, Cardoso said the bank’s target is to double the present flows.

According to the CBN governor, the target may appear ambitious, but he expressed confidence that the country will be able to accomplish it.

Also, Cardoso said the country will continue to engage investors in discussions centred on the state of the reforms implemented so far.

He also said there has been positive response from foreign portfolio investors (FPI).

“They’re part of a process of continuous engagement. And it is so critical that we use any opportunity we can to dialogue with investors and to update them on the state of the reforms that have taken place,” he said.

“The response from the foreign portfolio investors has been very positive and it shows in the numbers and we expect from what the reactions that we got during the course of the past few days, that positive sentiment will continue to improve.”

Meanwhile, on April 20, the federal government said it is considering the issuance of a diaspora bond to boost remittances.