Despite efforts by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to curtail the operations of suspected manipulators and speculators, the naira has continued to depreciate in value leaving many Nigerians wondering.
The EFCC had claimed to engaged in the well-known Abuja Zone 4 market, specifically targeting Bureau De Change operators in an attempt to slow down the naira’s sharp slide.
But the depreciation of the naira continued less than a day after the EFCC took action, falling from N1,700 to N1,825 in the same time frame.
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Notwithstanding efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to stabilise the value of the currency, this loss represents an all-time low for the naira against the US dollar and the British pound sterling in Nigerian history.
The naira’s declining trend began before Bola Tinubu took office in May of last year, but it has accelerated since then, especially after the decision to float the currency.
The naira fell sharply in September, peaking at N1,000 to the US dollar on the black market. This significant devaluation highlighted the difficulties in controlling the national currency in the face of rapidly rising inflation.
The devaluation of the naira has been attributed to criticism of the government’s economic policies, which include the elimination of the gasoline subsidy and the combination of foreign exchange windows into a single Importer and Exporter (I&E) window. A Price Water Coopers analysis claims that these actions caused the naira’s value to plummet by 98%.
Worries On The Rise Over Naira Consistent Fall Against Dollar
