Economy

Naira Redesign: Finance Ministry Warns CBN of Consequence, Denies Knowledge of Project

Published

1 year ago

October 28, 2022

Eric

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has dissociated herself from the Naira redesign policy fixed for December 15, 2022 by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The Minister, who commented on the policy in response to question raised by Senators during the 2023 budget defence session she had with the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Solomon Olamilekan, warned the CBN of consequences that may arise from the policy.

The Senate had told the Finance Minister that barely two days after announcement of the policy by the CBN, the negative effect was already being experienced in the country’s forex.

The Senate noted that just two days after announcement of the policy, value of the Naira to a US dollar has risen from N740 to N788 due to rush in exchange of stashed Naira Notes for foreign currencies, particularly the dollar.

The senators added that the policy may be a well-conceived one, but the timing, going by realities on the ground, is very wrong as the naira may fall to as low as N1,000 to a US dollar before January 31, 2023 fixed for full implementation of the policy.

In her response, Ahmed said she and her Ministry were not aware of the policy but only heard of it from the media.

She said, “Distinguished Senators, we were not consulted at the Ministry of Finance by the CBN on the planned naira redesigning and cannot comment on it as regards merits or otherwise.

“However, as a Nigerian privileged to be at the top of Nigeria’s fiscal management, the policy as rolled out at this time portends serious consequences on value of naira to other foreign currencies.

“I will, however, appeal to this committee to invite the CBN governor for required explanations as regards merits of the planned policy and rightness or otherwise of its implementation now.”

The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had on Wednesday said that the apex bank would redesign the country’s currency from 200 Naira denomination to N1,000 notes.

He said the action was taken in order to take control of the currency in circulation just as he posited that the bulk of the nation’s currency notes were outside bank vaults and that the CBN would not allow the situation to continue.

The planned policy, he added, was in line with Sections 19, Subsections a and b of the CBN Act 2007, upon which the Management of the CBN sought and obtained the approval of the President Muhammadu Buhari to redesign, produce, and circulate new series of banknotes at N200, N500, and N1,000 notes.

Economy

Naira Makes More Recovery, Sells at N1,453/$1

Published

1 month ago

March 22, 2024

Eric

The Naira continued its appreciation at the official market on Thursday, March 21, 2024 to close at N1,453.28/$1, according to data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

This represents an appreciation of N39.33 when compared to the N1,492.61/$1 it closed on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,598/$1, while the intraday low was N1,300/$1, representing a wide spread of N298/$1.

Similarly, the Naira appreciated against the dollar at the parallel window to trade at N1,500/$1, this represents an appreciation of N20.00 as against the N1,520 /$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira also appreciated slightly against the British Pound to trade at N2,000/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,020/£1 representing a gain of N20 for the local currency.

The Canadian dollar, however, closed flat against the naira to trade at N1,270/CA$1 same as the N1,270/CA$1 it traded the previous day representing a decline of N20 in the local currency.

The Naira gained N30 against the Euro to trade at N1,670/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,700/€1.

Economy

Naira Gains Against Dollar, Trades at N1,603/$1

Published

1 month ago

March 13, 2024

Eric

The Naira, Tuesday continued its recovery against the American dollar as it traded at N1,603.38/$1, data from the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window has shown.

This represents a gain of N15.48 when compared to the N1,617.96/$1 it closed on, on Monday, March 11, 2024.

The intraday high was N1,637/$1, while the intraday low was N1,425.35/$1, representing a lean spread of N211.65/$1.

Meanwhile, the Naira gained N12 against the dollar at the parallel market as the local currency appreciated to N1,603/$1 as against the N1,615 /$1 it traded the previous day. As it stands, the naira is trading at the same rate at both official and parallel windows.

The Naira, however, slumped against the British Pound to trade at N2,050/£1 as against the previous trading day’s price of N2,030/£1 representing a loss of N20 for the local currency.

After about two weeks of closing flat against the Canadian dollar, the naira slumped massively to trade at N1,300/CA$1 on Tuesday, representing a decline of N150 when compared to the N1,150/CA$1 it traded the previous day.

The Naira lost N35 against the Euro to trade at N1,740/€1 as against the previous closing price of N1,705/€1 representing a loss of N35 for the local currency.

Economy

Binance to Close Shop in Nigeria, Stops Transaction, Trading in Naira

Published

2 months ago

March 5, 2024

Eric

By Reuters – Binance will stop all transactions and trading in Nigeria’s local currency after March 8 amid a country-wide crackdown on crypto exchanges that have been blamed by authorities for feeding a black market for foreign exchange.

It will stop supporting withdrawals after Friday and any remaining balances in Nigerian Naira will be automatically converted into Tether – a stablecoin whose value is pegged to the U.S. dollar.

Last week, Nigerian authorities detained two Binance senior executives on undisclosed charges as part of the crackdown.

They were still in custody, their local lawyer said before a parliamentary committee on Monday.

Source: Reuters