President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of Nigeria has called on Nigerians to give the current leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN the chance to do their work, insisting, if the CBN leadership fails, the government will look for a way to remove them.

This was contained in a statement personally signed by the President after an emergency meeting with the 36 states’ governors on Thursday at State House in Abuja.

It would be recalled that OsazuwaAkonedo had in previous articles years back submitted that until Nigeria government banned and proscribed a particular bank product known as Domiciliary Account, the naira may continue to fall and cost of living may become unachievable by many which may cause anarchy in a very near time.

The Domiciliary Account product has been in operation for years as a worst form of banking corruption against humanity but the product became badly and largely put to use soon after former President Muhammadu Buhari came into power in 2015.

Domiciliary Account as operated by Nigeria commercial banks, required bank customers living in Nigeria, while in Nigeria must buy foreign currencies like Dollar, Euro, Pound amongst others from the black market to fund their Domiciliary Accounts before they can transact internationally.

This maybe what is making the demand for dollar to continue to be on a very high side. Most commercial banks don’t allow anymore Naira MasterCard or Naira account to be used to purchase goods or services of any amount internationally except Gold MasterCard or Domiciliary Account. Most commercial banks don’t pay customers with dollar or any foreign currency except customers who are in close relationship with them such as currency Black Marketers.

Some of the black marketers get the dollar from the bank through the help of some highly placed politicians at the official price and thereafter sell the foreign currencies to bank customers at exorbitant prices.

This maybe the reason, businesses do increase the cost of their goods and services from time to time as the Naira depreciate due to the exorbitant price it cost them to purchase the dollar. Most businesses in Nigeria need to buy some materials abroad before they can complete and produce their products.

Parents or loved ones of most students schooling abroad are forced to go to black market to buy dollar at exorbitant prices before they can pay their children or loved ones’ tuition fees and settle other payments.

We believe, if the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is sincere in addressing the continuous fall of the Naira against dollar, he must insist, all international transactions must be done by all commercial banks via Naira MasterCard or Naira Account and no more Gold or Domiciliary Account in the country.

Then, no one needs to go to black market to buy dollar before he or she can transact internationally. Thereafter, the demand for dollar by businesses and individuals living in Nigeria will reduce. And market force may now determine the right exchange rates between the Naira and the Foreign currencies. Which will make businesses to reduce the cost of their goods and services.

That aside, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu during the Thursday meeting with the 36 State governors said the populations on the fluctuation between the foreign exchange rates and the Naira is affecting the Nigeria Markert adversely.

In his words, President Tinubu said: “I urge all governors to trust the Central Bank of Nigeria with the management of our country’s monetary policy, and emphasized the need for designated institutions to effectively fulfill their mandate.

The “cacophony of postulations” on the fluctuation of foreign exchange rates is adversely affecting the market. Not everyone can be an expert. If we have assigned someone a task, we must allow them to perform it. If they fail, then we must find a way to quickly remove them from the system”.

It was widely reported on Thursday that the value of the Naira continued its free fall on as it depreciated to ₦1,610 to a United States Dollar (USD) at the parallel market whilst it appreciated at the Nigeria Autonomous Foreign Exchange, NAFEX window.

It was gathered that at the close of business on Thursday, the value of the Naira which had dipped to ₦1,515.28 to the Dollar at the NAFEX window, had appreciated to ₦1,498.25. The value of the local currency had dipped on Wednesday despite a $117.87 million inflow into the market.

At the parallel market, it was gathered that the value of the Naira continued to dip with transactions exchanged between ₦1,610 and ₦1,615 to the Dollar on Thursday compared to ₦1,550, which it sold the previous day.

Meanwhile, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Olayemi Cardoso recently brief joint committees of the Nigerian Senate on Friday, February 09, 2024.

At the briefing, he said inflationary pressures are expected to decline in 2024 to 21.4% in the medium term, aided by improved agricultural productivity and easing global supply chain pressures.

During the briefing, as made available by the Public Relations Unit of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, the apex bank governor, “Mr Cardoso encouraged Nigerians to moderate their demand for foreign exchange to sustainable levels. He is upbeat about the increased trade volume in the Nigerian foreign exchange market, reaching single-day trade levels of over $800 million.

According to the Governor: “Every Nigerian has a responsibility to help curb our reliance on foreign products and services. Every contribution, no matter how small, counts.”

“We’ve utilised various strategies to manage rate volatility and are confident that stability will return sooner rather than later.”

“The Bank’s measures, aimed at stabilising the exchange rate, have already started yielding early results with significant interest from Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs).”