Nigeria: Press spotlights further drop in Naira exchange rate, others

APA – Lagos (Nigeria)
The report that the naira fell to an all-time low of N1348.63/$ on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market on Monday dominates the headlines of Nigerian newspapers on Tuesday.
The Punch reports that the naira fell to an all-time low of N1348.63/$ on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market on Monday.
This signifies a 51.21 per cent fall from the N891.90/$ the national currency closed last Friday at the official market, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
Monday’s official rate is the worst official exchange rate the country has recorded since the Central Bank of Nigeria floated the national currency in June 2023.
The naira had closed above the N1000/$ on the official window. On December 8, the naira first fell to an all-time low of N1,099.05/$. On December 28, 2023, it closed at N1043.09/$, and N1035.12/$ on January 3, 2024. On January 9, 2024, it closed at N1089.51/$ and N1082.32/$ on January 10, 2024.
This steep depreciation of the naira against the dollar is defying efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Federal Government to boost liquidity in the foreign exchange market.
The national currency is also not faring better on the parallel window of the foreign exchange market. According to Bureau de Change Operators, the naira further fell to N1,450/$ as of the end of trading on Monday. On Friday, the naira closed at N1,420/$ on the parallel window.
A trader, Abdusallam Abubakar, told The PUNCH, “If you want to buy, I’ll sell to you at N1,450/$. That’s the price for today. We buy at N1440/$.”
The newspaper says that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Mr Ekperikpe Ekpo, has assured of uninterrupted supply to the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
According to a statement by the minister’s spokesman, Louis Ibah, on Monday, Ekpo stated this when he led a delegation from Nigeria to Rabat in Morocco to meet with the country’s Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Ms Leila Benali and other officials involved in the project.
The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline was proposed in December 2016 in an agreement between the NNPCL and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines.
The Federal Executive Council in June 2022 authorised the NNPCL to enter into an agreement with ECOWAS for the construction of the pipeline.
Ekpo was quoted as reassuring his host of President Bola Tinubu commitment to the success of the project.
He said, “President Bola Tinubu is passionate about this initiative and will do everything possible to ensure that we get to the end of it. It is a long-term project but it will succeed. My assurance to you and the people of Morocco is that gas will not be a problem as far as Nigeria is concerned.”
Ekpo added that Nigeria would play a pivotal role in the marketing of the product within the African Union and the European Union.
The Guardian reports that the Nigerian Government has expressed its sadness over the pronouncement by the military authority in the Republic of Niger indicating that the Republics of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger have withdrawn membership of their countries from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
In a statement on Monday by Francisca K. Omayuli, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, government said for half a century, ECOWAS had worked to promote peace, prosperity and democracy in the region.
The military juntas in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger had on Sunday withdrawn from the ECOWAS “with immediate effect”. And yesterday, they simultaneously notified ECOWAS, the African Union (AU) and United Nations of their withdrawal from the regional economic bloc, citing concerns about ECOWAS’s divergence from its founding principles and influence from foreign powers.
However, the statement from the foreign affairs ministry, said: “Nigeria stands with ECOWAS to emphasise due process and shared commitment to protect and strengthen the rights and welfare of all citizens of Member States. Nigeria has worked sincerely and in good faith to reach out to all members of the ECOWAS family to resolve the difficulties being faced. It is now clear that those seeking to quit the Community do not share that same good faith,” said the statement.
The Federal Government accused the unelected leaders of denying their people the sovereign right to make fundamental choices over their freedom of movement, freedom to trade and freedom to choose their leaders. Government however expressed its desire to engage with Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger “so that all the people of the region can continue to enjoy the economic benefits and democratic values that ECOWAS embraces.”
Nigeria further appeals to the International Community to continue to extend its support for ECOWAS and the vision of closer partnership, cooperation and integration.
The newspaper says that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released fresh $500m to various sectors of the economy to address the foreign exchange (FX) challenge.
The Acting Director, the Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Hakama Sidi-Ali, stated this in Abuja yesterday.
According to Sidi-Ali, this comes barely a week after the apex bank paid approximately $2 billion to settle outstanding commitments across various sectors.
She said that the management of the CBN was committed to settling all legitimate foreign exchange backlogs within a short time frame.
She said the CBN had begun implementing a comprehensive strategy to improve liquidity in the Nigerian foreign exchange markets in the short, medium, and long terms.
“As the governor said, the CBN’s focus is on addressing fundamental issues that have hindered the effective operation of the Nigerian FX markets over the years,” she said.
Meanwhile, Sidi-Ali said that the FX market reforms were designed to streamline and unify multiple exchange rates, foster transparency, and reduce arbitrage opportunities.
GIK/APA