The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced the total clearance of all valid foreign exchange backlog liabilities.
The Acting Director of Corporate Communications (CBN), Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali made this statement on Wednesday in Abuja.
Ali said this latest tranche was the outstanding $1.5 billion out of the estimated valid $7 billion foreign exchange obligations.
She maintained that an independent auditor, Deloitte Consulting assessed the claims to ensure only verifiable claims were settled while invalid transactions were referred to other authorities for further scrutiny.
The statement also revealed that the foreign exchange reserves of Nigeria rose by $993 million to $34.11 billion as of March 7th, 2024. The increase was attributed to increased remittance by diaspora Nigerians and purchases of government securities by foreign investors.
The influx of positive news on the supply side of foreign exchange has subsequently spurred the strengthening of the Naira against the dollar on the parallel market. The Naira was exchanging for N1,500 for buy transactions and N1,400 for sell transactions on the parallel market.
Currency speculators were said to have been caught off-guard by the revelations, and there was a rush to sell the Dollar on Wednesday at parallel markets nationwide
Does this trend portend the Naira regaining its lost value against the dollar?
This question is one most probably on the minds of financial analysts.
The supply and demand economics plays a major role in the determination of the strength of the Naira. The CBN has a major role in sustaining the tempo of efficient settlement of future foreign exchange obligations, while incentivizing the inflow of dollars through various mechanisms available to it. A disciplined follow through on this, would mean the country might be on the path to getting a sustainable and fair value for the Naira.
