The Presidency has told Nigerians that the Naira would soon appreciate.
President Bola Tinubu’s special advisor on information and strategy, Bayo Onanuga, advised speculators to swiftly unload their dollars to prevent “tears.”
Onanuga who commented on ‘X’ while responding to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) admission that it has cleared the $7 billion foreign currency backlog inherited by Governor Yemi Cardoso, stated Naira is destined to appreciate further.
He wrote: “With backlog FX settled, Naira is set to appreciate further, faster. Currency speculators should quickly dump their stock of dollars to avoid sorrows and tears.”
It was claimed that the CBN’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi Ali, verified the payment of all genuine FX backlog claims.
Ali said the apex bank recruited Deloitte Consulting, an independent auditing agency, to painstakingly evaluate the transactions, ensuring that only legal claims were paid.
“Any invalid transactions were referred to the relevant authorities for further investigation,” she stated.
The CBN’s dedication to tackling the FX backlog looks to be paying off, with the foreign reserves experiencing a considerable boost, hitting $34.11 billion as of March 7, 2024, the highest level in eight months