Few hours after rumour that the Central Bank of Nigeria devalued the naira, the apex bank denied devaluing the Naira in a tweet sent out via its verified Twitter account on Thursday morning, adding that the reports were false. The CBN later claimed that the report was the product of the newspaper in a statement made by Isa Abdulmumin, its Director of Corporate Communications.Because the news article is speculative and intended to cause panic in the market, the apex bank advised the public to ignore it in its entirety.
“We wish to state categorically that this news report, which in the imagination of the newspaper is exclusive, is replete with outright lies and destabilizing innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the functioning of the Nigerian foreign exchange market,” the statement reads.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate in the Investors and Exporters (1& E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at N465/US$1, and it has been consistent at this rate for a time.”
The general public is thus warned to disregard the entire news story since it is speculative and designed to cause a panic in the market.To avoid misleading the public, media professionals are urged to confirm their facts with the Central Bank of Nigeria before posting.According to an earlier report in a national newspaper, the CBN depreciated the Naira from N461. 6 to N631 to the dollar when it sold it at the Importers and Exporters (I& E) window the day before.In his inaugural address on Monday, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said the apex bank must work toward a country with a single exchange rate to promote the economy. The devaluation, according to the report, occurred 48 hours later.
President Tinubu met with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele on Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja to discuss the exchange rate after making the announcement.The apex bank sold the spot rate to banks on behalf of their customers at N631 to a dollar at the start of the weekly foreign exchange bidding, according to the publication, and most bidders received the full amount they sought.
One of the consumers reportedly applied and had their complete request accepted at N631 as opposed to N461. 6, the publication was informed by the customer. Prices on the parallel market have also been trending lower as a result of the shift.According to the Daily Trust, rates in Abuja and Kano decreased from N750 to a dollar in the morning to N745 by the evening.
On anticipation of a potential shift in exchange rate management when Tinubu assumes office on Monday, the naira declined in the parallel market to its worst level in a year.According to Umar Salisu, a BDC operator who monitors the data in the nation’s commercial capital, the naira fell to N762 to the dollar on Friday from 775 the day before.After stabilizing for the most of this year, the unit has been progressively losing value in the secondary market since last week, according to the newspaper.
