Report of naira devaluation false, says CBN

June 01

09:46 2023

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has debunked a report by a national daily that it has devalued the naira to N631 per dollar at the importers’ and exporters’ (I&E) window.

The apex bank said this in a tweet on Thursday.

A newspaper reported that the regulator devalued the naira, trading N631 to the dollar on the official window.

The report said the devaluation occurred 48 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the plans of the federal government to unify the country’s exchange rate to stimulate the economy.

The publication caused a stir in the country on Thursday morning.

Speaking on the matter, CBN said it “did not devalue the naira”.

“We wish to state categorically that this news report, which in the imagination of the newspaper is exclusive, is replete with outright falsehoods and destabilising innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian foreign exchange market,” CBN said in a statement by Isa Abdulmumin, its director of corporate communications.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the investors’ and exporters’ (I&E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at N465/US$1 and has been stable around this rate for a while.

“The public is, hereby, advised to ignore the news report in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market.

“Media practitioners are advised to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.”

Meanwhile, TheCable reported that the naira, on Friday, sold for as high as N632/$ at the investors and exporters (I&E) window amid increased demand.

The figure was the highest intraday rate ever recorded since the introduction of the window in April 2017.

The I&E foreign exchange (FX) window is the country’s official exchange rate window. It is the market trading segment for investors, exporters, and end-users that allows for FX trades to be made at exchange rates determined based on prevailing market circumstances.