By John Ikani
For the first time in this month, the Nigerian currency, Naira has appreciated significantly against the US dollar at the parallel market, exchanging for 720/$1.
Recall that the Nigerian currency hit an all-time low of about N910 to the US dollar on the black market shortly after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced plans to redesign high-value currency notes of N200, N500 and N1,000 and reissued from December 15.
CBN said the affected currency notes will cease to be accepted after January 31, 2023, and asked currency holders to pay their currency notes to the banks before then.
While some have begun paying their hordes of naira notes into banks, many have sought refuge in the dollar, mopping up the dollar bills from Bureaus de Change, to preserve value.
However, the currency began a rebound against the greenback on Monday, after a week-long clampdown on foreign exchange dealers in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and other major cities by the personnel of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
EFCC officials had arrested over 90 Bureau De Change (BDC) operators across major cities in the country over allegations of currency hoarding and aiding politically exposed Nigerians and other criminal elements in money laundering.
Some BDCs who spoke to newsmen gave some other reasons for the recovery of the naira.
In Abuja around the Zone 4 area, a currency trader Umaru Abu, told local news outlet Daily Trust that: “People are scared that with recent information that the US is rejecting the $100 bill, buying the dollar could be a risk, but we have now heard from CBN officials that it is not true.
“Some of my colleagues said maybe people are buying more assets due to the CBN naira redesign policy and are cutting down spending in dollars. But we have observed some drop in patronage since Tuesday evening,” he noted.
Others simple attributed the rebound to Naira scarcity, saying this was responsible for the inability of speculators buying dollars to offer higher rates for the green back.
“There is no naira in the system,” one currency dealer told local news outlet Daily Trust in Central Lagos District, the heart of the financial market.
He said the dollar had risen to N730, but said if a seller wants naira to be paid into his bank account, it would be done at a lower rate of N700. In Port Harcourt, a dealer priced the dollar at N700 but demanded N720 to sell dollars to buyers.
