Naira Rallies To N1,312/$ At Official Window, Closes At N1,470/$1 In Parallel Market

During mid-day trading on Friday, Nigeria’s naira strengthened to 1,312.51 per dollar, as reported by data from the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

The naira, which has faced persistent challenges since a devaluation in January—its second within a year—was observed trading at 1,301 naira per dollar at 14:28 WAT.

The parallel market also saw positive movement, with the Naira closing at N1,470/$1 on Friday, up from the N1,600/$1 it was on Monday.

This uptick comes in the wake of an announcement by the central bank on Wednesday, confirming the clearance of its entire verified foreign exchange backlog.

The central bank’s intervention, disclosed on Wednesday, involved the disbursement of $1.5 billion to settle outstanding obligations owed to commercial bank customers.

Basking in the euphoria of the naira appreciation against the greenback, President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, appealed to Nigerians to patronise indigenous goods and services to sustain the emerging positive showing of the Naira at the foreign exchange market.

The exchange rate of the Naira to other international currencies had steadily slid into a weak position since the government introduced a policy to float the currency last year, in an attempt to curb currency arbitrage.

However, the President noted that the positive development around Naira’s exchange value doesn’t call for clinking of glasses yet, saying there was need for more work and efforts to sustain the gains.

He advised patriotic Nigerians to blow the whistle and expose those engaging in currency sharp practices.

Deji Elumoye and Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi

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