Encomium
The naira is dancing shoki as its value fluctuates dangerously high, in spite of Central Bank of Nigeria’s Wednesday, August 5, 2015, pronouncement categorically stopping banks from accepting foreign currency deposits into domiciliary accounts, a policy the banks introduced last weekend.
Expectations that the naira will appreciate considerably against major international currencies have been dashed as forex traders, recipients of proceeds of crime and corrupt officials are keeping the value of dollars, pounds and euros higher than projected.
Today (Thursday, August 6), the naira exchanged at the black market at N220-N225 to the dollar, N318-N325 to pounds and N240 and N246 to euro.
The naira’s appreciation at the weekend has been defeated in the last few days as speculators reign, deciding the rates of exchange arbitrarily.
Concerned Nigerians are apprehensive that the policy of rejecting foreign currencies by banks, meant to improve the value of the naira, may fall flat and achieve nothing.
But optimists believe that the speculators will fail since they won’t have anywhere (except their houses and offices) to keep the foreign currencies once banks implement without bending the new policy.
