The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said that fresh steps will be taken to stabilize the value of the naira in relation to the dollar.
This was said by Folashodun Shonubi, acting governor of the CBN, in a conversation with State House reporters on Monday following a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the presidential villa in Abuja.
Shonubi claimed that the apex bank is prepared to stop the naira’s decline since it has prepared intervention strategies that will be announced in the coming days.
He issued a warning that individuals engaged in shady activities on the foreign exchange market, particularly the parallel market, would face harsh punishment from the government.
Shonubi stated that he and the president talked about how to stabilize the naira and that the president is worried about market developments and how they affect the populace.
The acting CBN chief observed that speculative behavior is driving changes in the parallel market rather than consumer desires.
He forewarned that after the government initiates its tactics, speculators will incur significant losses.
Mr. President is quite concerned about some of the developments in the foreign exchange market, he declared.One of the topics we covered was what could be done to boost the market’s liquidity, stabilize it, and also keep up with events on other markets, such as the parallel market.
He worries about how it will affect the common person because, regrettably, many of our strictly local operations still make reference to exchange rates in the black market.
“We talked, and I told him what we’re doing to increase supplies.
The spreads of the difference have not varied as much on the official market, which has been quite constant.
“We do not think that the changes occurring in the parallel market are just the result of economic supply and demand, but rather are influenced by speculative demand from individuals.
We believe that the things we’re doing, when they come to fruition, may result in large losses to them, so sooner rather than later, the speculators should be wary. However, some of the plans and methods, which I’m not at liberty to disclose with you, signify that.My presence here, though, is more about the President’s worries and his want to know that we are taking action to address them; I have fully reassured him of this.So, I hope that was helpful. We are paying attention to it and taking action that will have a big effect on the market in a few days, and we will all notice it.
The goal is to make sure that the environment functions at a level that is more effective, but also extremely reasonable and does not, to the best of our ability, have a detrimental impact on the lives of normal people. I appreciate it very much.