Presidency Clarifies CBN Governor Cardoso's Reported Sack As Naira Crashes to Six-Month Low

• Nigerian presidency has reacted to the reported sack of CBN governor Yemi Cardoso amid the naira depreciation
• There have been rumours that President Tinubu is planning to replace Cardoso as CBN governor
• The naira is currently at its lowest level against the United States dollar in the official foreign market

Dave Ibemere, a journalist at Legit.ng, has been reporting on business for over ten years. He has deep knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stock market, and general market trends.

The presidency has officially denied claims that President Bola Tinubu requested the resignation of Olayemi Cardoso, Nigeria’s Central Bank governor, as the naira continues to plummet against the dollar.

The clarification was issued by the president's spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, in a statement on X on Tuesday night.

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Did Tinubu ask CBN Gov Cardoso to resign? Presidency opens up

Reports had suggested that Tinubu urged Cardoso to step down before his trip to China in August due to his inability to stabilise the naira, which has fallen to unprecedented lows.

Allegedly, the president expected Cardoso to bring the naira's value to between N700 and N900 per dollar by May 29, 2024.

But reacting, Onanuga refuted the claims, stating:

“It’s all lies. President Tinubu has not asked Yemi Cardoso to resign.”

Naira to dollar exchange rate

Since Cardoso assumed office on September 22, 2022, the naira has depreciated significantly by over 124.39% in the official market and more than 70% in the parallel market.

On Tuesday, September 17, the naira recorded a six-month low of N1,656.49 per dollar in the official foreign exchange (FX) market following strong demand for the greenback by the end users.

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The last time the naira traded against the dollar at this level was in February 2024, when it exchanged at N1,665.50/$ on dollar shortages.

New platforms identified as threats to naira

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Nigerians identified the emergence of two cryptocurrency platforms as the reason for the recent fall of the naira.

The earlier decline of the naira was attributed to alleged market manipulation by Binance.

Nigerians have blamed the latest depreciation on new crypto exchange platforms, namely BYBIT and BITGET.

Proofreading by James, Ojo Adakole, journalist and copy editor at Legit.ng.

Source: Legit.ng