Dollar Scarcity Crashes Naira to N900 to a Dollar at the Black Market

Dollar Scarcity Crashes Naira to N900 to a Dollar at the Black Market

  • Naira has fallen to N900 t0 dollar at the black market as Nigerians rush to offload their naira
  • Investigation shows that the local currency plummeted on Wednesday, November 2, 2022
  • It is believed that there is panic among Nigerians as CBN deadline to dispose of old notes draws to a close

Nigerians' rush to stack up dollars has further crashed the naira to an all-time low of N900 to a dollar.

Checks by Legit.ng on Wednesday, November 2, 2022, show that unofficial parallel market operators sold the naira for N900 to a dollar and N950 to a pound.'

Naira to dollar, Naira falls
Naira falls to N900 to a dollar Credit: Boy_Anupong
Source: Getty Images

Operators lament glut of naira

Operators at the Allen Avenue and Ogba axis said there is a glut of the local currency at the market as Nigerians move to dispose of their naira in exchange for hard currencies to circumvent the CBN deadline of January 31, 2023, for the cessation of the circulation of notes.

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The spike in the pursuit of dollars is largely caused panic among Nigerians who do not want to be caught off guard by the apex bank's deadline.

The certainty that the CBN is redesigning the naira notes drives a frantic chase of the dollar and other foreign currencies.

Experts blame hoarders

Nigerians now prefer to hoard dollars instead of the naira, says Emeka Okoroanyanwu, Business Editor of the Nigerian Xpress.

Okoroanyanw stated that because of the rate the local currency crashes, Nigeria feels it's useless saving their monies in naira.

"I don't see the naira regaining any moment soon. The best it can do is N500 to dollar but Nigerians should brace for N1,000 by December," he said.

Also, most people believe that many who hoarded the naira have emptied their vaults at the black markets due to fear of being caught by anti-graft agencies if they lodged them in the bank.

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New naira notes: Banks issue deadlines to customers to deposit old naira notes

Legit.ng reported that Amid the bickering between the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed and The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, over the redesigning of naira notes, several banks have given deadlines to their customers to deposit old naira notes. One of the banks,

Fidelity Banks, announced via its Instagram page on Saturday, October 29, 2022, that its customers have until January 31, 2022, to deposit old naira notes or risk being rejected.

The bank said it would extend working hours to 6 pm in all its branches to allow cash deposits.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Pascal Oparada avatar

Pascal Oparada (Business editor) For over a decade, Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment, and the economy. He has worked in many media organizations such as Daily Independent, TheNiche newspaper, and the Nigerian Xpress. He is a 2018 PwC Media Excellence Award winner. Email:pascal.oparada@corp.legit.ng