Expectedly, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured concerned President Bola Tinubu that it was ready to take new measures to stabilize the naira against the dollar.
Folasodun Sonubi, Acting Governor of the apex bank, made the disclosure to State House Correspondents after briefing President Bola Tinubu on what the bank was doing to halt the slide.
He said President Tinubu expressed his concerns about the impact of recent developments on the foreign exchange market, particularly on ordinary citizens.
Sonubi said he assured the President that the CBN was actively working to improve liquidity and stability in the market, including addressing issues in the parallel market.
Sonubi emphasised that the fluctuations in the parallel market were not solely driven by economic factors, but also speculative demand.
The apex bank governor said while he would not disclose specific details, he admonished speculators that the CBN’s upcoming initiatives could potentially lead to significant losses for them.
He said the primary purpose of his visit to the President was to reassure the president that the CBN was taking decisive action to address the concerns raised.
He expressed confidence that the measures being implemented would yield positive outcomes within a few days.
According to him, the CBN’s ultimate goal was to create an efficient and reasonable operating environment that would minimise negative impacts on an average Nigerian’s life.
He assured Nigerians that the CBN remained committed to ensuring stability and improving the overall economic landscape.
According to him: “Mr President is very concerned about some of the goings on in the foreign exchange market. One of the things we discussed is what could be done to stabilise and what could be done to improve the liquidity in the market and also the goings on in the various other markets, including the parallel market.
“He’s concerned about its impact on the average person, since, unfortunately a lot of activities that we do, which are purely local, are still referenced to exchange rates in the parallel market.
“We’ve discussed, and I’ve shared with him what we’re doing to improve supply. If you look at the official market, you’ll find that that market has been fairly stable and the spreads of the difference have not fluctuated as much.
“We do not believe that the changes going on in the parallel market are driven by pure economic demand and supply, but are touched by speculative demand from people.
“Some of the plans and strategies, which I’m not at liberty to share with you, means sooner rather than later, the speculators should be careful because we believe the things we’re doing, when they come to fruition, may result in significant losses to them.
“But my presence here is more about the concerns the President has and his needs to know that we are doing something about it, assurances of which I have given him totally.
“So I hope this helps. We are looking at it and we’re doing things which will significantly impact the market in a few days time and we will all see it.
“The intention is to ensure the environment operates at a level that’s more efficient, but also that is also very reasonable and does not have a negative impact to the best that we can on the lives of the average person.”
