After enduring more than a year of intense pressure, the Central of Bank of Nigeria has officially devalued the naira with effect from June 20.
The naira’s value will now be determined by market forces, CBN governor Godwin Emefiele said Wednesday while announcing new guidelines for a flexible foreign exchange policy.
The CBN governor stated that rent seekers and speculators will have no business to do. “I don’t expect that any other exchange rate will be recognized,” he said at the press conference.
He said the apex bank would select a group of 10 primary dealers through which the naira will be traded, adding that the CBN would intervene from time to time.
The 41 items previously banned from accessing forex will remain banned, Emefiele stated.
With the announcement, the naira will now find its level. It is likely to go only one way: down. In just a few weeks, a dollar is likely to exchange with N500 or more. Reason: Nigeria is not fetching much from its major forex earner crude oil and is a consumer nation.
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