On Thursday, the naira closed at a fresh low of N956.33 per dollar on the official market and N1165 per dollar on the black market.
At the end of business on Thursday, the official forex market, the NAFEM, presented data showing that the value of the native currency had dropped by 12.11% to close at N956.33 to the US dollar.
The local currency has dropped by N115.8, or 12.11%, from its closing value of N840.53 on Wednesday, marking a new all-time low, according to the Nairametrics tracker. November 9th’s record low of N996.75 was the most recent all-time low.
The intraday high recorded was N1136/$1, while the intraday low was N615/$1, representing a wide spread of N521/$1.
According to data obtained from the official NAFEM window, forex turnover at the close of the trading was $105.50 million, representing a 46.77% decrease compared to the previous day.
Similarly, the naira weakened at the parallel forex market where forex is sold unofficially, the exchange rate depreciated by 1.29%, quoted at N1165/$1, while peer-to-peer traders quoted around N1148.44/$1.
Amid the rising free fall of the Naira both at the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) and the unofficial market, financial experts had called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to de-dollarise the economy by declaring any local transactions in the US dollars illegal.
Speaking on strategies that can be used for the naira to regain strength, the founder and chief consultant of B. Adedipe Associates Limited (BAA Consult), Dr. Biodun Adedipe, said the CBN should stop government agencies from charging local operators and entities in US dollars.
According to him, the sale of crude oil to local refineries should also be made in Naira rather than in US dollars.
Adedipe said: “CBN should deal transparently with participating banks at the I&E Window. De-dollarize the economy by declaring as illegal any local transactions in US dollars (sale of assets, rent/leases, and other services, including school fees and medical bills) and ensure that government agencies stop charging local operators and entities in US dollars (quite common in the maritime sector).
“Other suggestions include the need to ensure that the sale of crude oil to local refineries should be made in Naira rather than dollars. “
“President Bola Tinubu should have a direct engagement with bank CEOs to generate ideas and use moral suasion to enlist their support for the market reforms. Face the reality that unified exchange rates (not any different than floating the Naira) is a poor policy choice for a structurally defective and weak economy like ours,” he added.
