Business News
Next Level: Exchange rate under Buhari by 2023
As President Muhammadu Buhari won Nigeria’s recently-concluded presidential election for his second term bid, Nigerians who voted-in the president again ‘surprisingly’ do not have demanding expectations from him.
Unlike when he was contesting for the first term tenure, almost all Nigerians wanted a change in government and ease in the country’s economy. It may not be erroneous to say Buhari had won the presidency in 2015, as a result of his campaign on boosting the country’s economy.
Buhari’s ‘change’ mantra, according to the president, was also designed to influence the Nigerian exchange rate. During his presidential campaign in 2015, the president promised to equal naira to the dollar. This was one of the most exciting promises Buhari made to win Nigerians’ heart.
Little did anyone know that the exchange rate would only go from bad to worse. Under his first tenure, naira depreciated in it value by 81.82%, a development no one saw coming.
While an exchange rate is the rate of one country’s currency in relation to another currency, a currency peg is a country or government’s exchange rate policy whereby it attaches, or links, the central bank’s rate of exchange to another country’s currency.
How naira depreciated drastically
The naira has been weakened against the U.S. dollar since June 2015 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) scrapped the currency peg that had kept it at an artificially-high value of around N198 per $1.
Following the scrapping of the peg, naira lost over 40% of its value against the US dollar. While the Central Bank had pledged to move to a free-floating exchange regime, it intervened in the foreign exchange market after the devaluation to keep the naira within a narrow range of N282 to N285 per USD.
In mid-July, 2015, the apex bank reduced its interventions, causing the naira to depreciate further. On July 28, 2015, the currency fell to a record-low of N322 per USD, which marked a 14.2% depreciation over the same day in June and a 61.8% depreciation in annual terms. Since then, the naira has been fluctuating at low levels. In the same year, the naira traded N321 per USD.
However, naira is currently exchanging at N360 per $1 in the parallel market.
Are Nigerians expecting much?
As mentioned earlier, the demands are not as much as they were in 2015. Nigerians seem to have received the exchange rate under Buhari by 2023 in good faith already.
Some Nigerians have taken to Twitter to predict the exchange rate by the time the president will be ending his tenure, and it’s not far from ‘more depreciation’.
700/$ assuming oil is $65. Are you time stamping this 🧐
— Charlie Robertson (@RencapMan) February 26, 2019
Which of the exchange rates? We will have 9 different usd/ngn rates by 2023
— SEVER 🇳🇬☄️🇬🇧 (@XSEVE_Trades) February 27, 2019
N420/$1.00
— Emeka Igwe (@igwechu60114594) February 26, 2019
N500/$ with crude oil prices around $50 – $60 on average. The cost of containing it at these level will be elevated interest rate environment and massive intervention by the CBN. This will happen no matter who becomes the CBN Governor.
— Kayode Trinity (@KayTrinity) February 28, 2019
Maximum N750 to 1 USD…………after all it was like N195 to USD 1 when GEJ left. By the same proportion of change, we should hit N750 at best.
— IamChiggy (@van_chiggy4) February 26, 2019
N256 =1$ oil @$80
— Abba kyari (@abdulgombe1060) February 26, 2019
I can't say for 2023 but all I know is that the Naira will hit N400 in few months this year.
— Timinipere Ababa (@timinipereAbaba) February 27, 2019
Coronavirus
COVID-19 Update in Nigeria
On the 25th of February 2021, 634 new confirmed cases and 6 deaths were recorded in Nigeria
The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continues to record significant increases as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 154,476 confirmed cases.
On the 25th of February 2021, 634 new confirmed cases and 6 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.
To date, 154,476 cases have been confirmed, 131,699 cases have been discharged and 1,891 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. A total of 1.49 million tests have been carried out as of February 25th, 2021 compared to 1.44 million tests a day earlier.
COVID-19 Case Updates- 25th February 2021,
- Total Number of Cases – 154,476
- Total Number Discharged – 131,722
- Total Deaths – 1,891
- Total Tests Carried out – 1,489,103
According to the NCDC, the 634 new cases are reported from 22 states- Lagos (259), Osun (45), Edo(38), Ogun (35), FCT (33), Anambra (26), Imo (24), Ondo (24), Akwa Ibom (20), Plateau (20), Abia (19), Kaduna (19), Ebonyi (17), Borno (10), Rivers (10), Kano (9), Delta (8), Kebbi (7), Nasarawa (4) Oyo (3), Enugu (2) and Ekiti (2).
Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 55,122, followed by Abuja (19,115), Plateau (8,854), Kaduna (8,422), Oyo (6,708), Rivers (6,398), Edo (4,491), Ogun (4,277), Kano (3,716), Ondo (2,944), Kwara (2,875), Delta (2,539), Osun (2,326), Nasarawa (2,208), Gombe (2,031), Katsina (2,029), Enugu (1,998), Ebonyi (1,839), Anambra (1,615), and Abia (1,487).
Imo State has recorded 1,440 cases, Akwa Ibom (1,439), Borno (1,247), Bauchi (1,221), Benue (1,188), Niger (912), Ekiti (797), Sokoto (768), Bayelsa (767), Adamawa (762), Taraba (712), Jigawa (496), Kebbi (358), Yobe (268), Cross River (267), Zamfara (219), while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.
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Lock Down and Curfew
In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.
The movement restriction, which was extended by another two weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.
On Monday, 29th June 2020 the federal government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by 4 weeks and approved interstate movement outside curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020. Also, on Monday 27th July 2020, the federal government extended the second phase of eased lockdown by an additional one week.
On Thursday, 6th August 2020 the federal government through the secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 announced the extension of the second phase of eased lockdown by another four (4) weeks.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State announced the closed down of the Eti-Osa Isolation Centre, with effect from Friday, 31st July 2020. He also mentioned that the Agidingbi Isolation Centre would also be closed and the patients relocated to a large capacity centre.
Due to the increased number of covid-19 cases in Nigeria, the Nigerian government ordered the reopening of Isolation and treatment centres in the country on Thursday, 10th December 2020.
On 26th January 2021, the Federal Government announced the extension of the guidelines of phase 3 of the eased lockdown by one month following the rising cases of the coronavirus disease in the country and the expiration of phase 3 of the eased lockdown.
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Corporate Press Releases
NIFIAN elects JAIZ Bank MD, Hassan Usman as first President
…Inaugurates pioneer EXCO members.
