Forex speculators have been forewarned by the Presidency that the Naira will shortly appreciate.
Bayo Onanuga, President Bola Tinubu’s Special Advisor on Information and Strategy, advised speculators to sell their dollars as soon as possible to avoid “tears.”
Onanuga was responding to the announcement made by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that it had paid off the $7 billion foreign exchange debt that Governor Yemi Cardoso had inherited.
Ms. Hakama Sidi Ali, CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, verified the settlement of all legitimate FX backlog claims in a statement on Wednesday.
The independent auditing company Deloitte Consulting was hired by Ali’s apex bank to carefully review the transactions and make sure that only valid claims were honored.
“Any invalid transactions were referred to the relevant authorities for further investigation,” she stated.
The CBN’s drive to clear the FX backlog is showing results; as of March 7, 2024, the external reserves had increased significantly to $34.11 billion, the highest level in eight months.
Onanuga responded by posting on X, “With backlog FX settled, Naira is set to appreciate further, faster. Currency speculators should quickly dump their stock of dollars to avoid sorrows and tears.”
