The Presidency has issued a stern warning to forex speculators, urging them to divest their holdings of Dollars, as the Naira is poised to appreciate in value.
Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to President Bola Tinubu, conveyed this message via a statement posted on his official X handle on Thursday.
In his statement, Onanuga urged currency speculators to act swiftly and dispose of their stock of dollars to avoid facing potential losses.
He emphasized, “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.”
The warning comes in the wake of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) announcement that it successfully cleared the $7 billion foreign exchange backlog inherited by Governor Yemi Cardoso.
Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, confirmed the resolution of all valid FX backlog claims in a statement released on Wednesday.
Ali disclosed that the CBN engaged the services of Deloitte Consulting, an independent auditing firm, to meticulously assess the transactions and ensure that only legitimate claims were honored.
She added that any invalid transactions were referred to the relevant authorities for further investigation.
The CBN’s concerted efforts to address the FX backlog have yielded positive results, with the country’s external reserves experiencing a significant surge. As of March 7, 2024, the external reserves stood at $34.11 billion, marking the highest level recorded in the past eight months.
The statement from the Presidency underscores the government’s commitment to stabilizing the forex market and bolstering the value of the Naira against foreign currencies.
As the country continues its economic recovery efforts, such measures aim to instill confidence among investors and safeguard the nation’s currency from speculative activities.