Nigerian Government Secretly Devalues Our Naira, $1 is Now ₦290 CBN Rate & ₦360 In Black Market

The Nigerian currency has reportedly crashed against the dollar, both officially and on the parallel market.

Sahara Reporters is reporting that this is as a result of the devaluation of the Nigerian currency following the removal of fuel subsidy. On Friday, May 13, reports say the naira now sells for N290 and N360 at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and black market respectively. Sahara Reporters’s post reads:

“FLASH: Nigeria buckles, devalues its national currency. Naira secretly devalued to N290 to a $1. Now sells at N360 in the black market.”

As at the time of filing this report, our correspondent tried to reach out to the bureau de change operators for the true state of things on the black market, but they did not pick up their calls. During an investors’ forum in Lagos on Wednesday, May 11, Nigeria’s vice president, Professor Yemi Osinbajo informed that President Muhammadu Buhari has consistently affirmed that the naira would not be devalued, despite some pressures from within and outside.

Nigeria’s number two citizen explained during the meeting, that the more flexible foreign exchange policy would “be able to attract more capital into the system and ease business. “We believe there must be some substantial re-evaluation of the foreign exchange policy, especially with a view to increasing foreign exchange supply, encouraging capital importation and also being able to allow free flow of remittances…we expect that with a more flexible policy, we will be able to attract more capital into the system and ease business.”

Reuters reports, however, that while the naira remains at N197 against the dollar on the interchange market, it is now trades at N345/dollar on the parallel market. Aminu Gwadabe, head of BDC operators, stated: “More speculators are taking a position in the market, causing dollar scarcity and fall in the value of the local currency.”