The naira is under siege. With yesterday’s N391 to dollar exchange rate at the parallel market, it's obvious the long-awaited solution to stabilise against the US dollar is not working. That the naira lost N19 to the dollar between Wednesday and yesterday is an indication that we need to think faster.
Still, the official rate has remained at N197 to the dollar in the last six months, creating a massive N194 gap between the official or interbank rates and parallel market rates.
The investors are insisting that in a matter of time, the naira will be devalued as no investor wants to make a loss at the time of investment.
The Federal Government’s dollar earnings have also nose-dived, with crude oil trading at $35 per barrel against $125 per barrel 16 months ago.The CBN has on its own, resisted naira devaluation. The restriction of forex for 41 items, stoppage of dollar sales to Bureau de Change (BDC) operators, stoppage of credit cards’ usage outside the country, and even plans to stop forex for school fees payment, were all meant to bring reprieve to the troubled naira. But, the reverse has been the case.
No comments:
Post a Comment