News
Naira defies CBN’s forex reforms, tumbled 41% in 2024
By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
The official exchange rate between the naira and the United States dollar ended in 2024 at N1,535/$, an analysis of data from the Central Bank of Nigeria has shown.
This was a 40.9 per cent depreciation over the year when compared to the official rate at the close of 2023, which stood at N907.11/$.
The significant depreciation comes amid the CBN’s introduction of several foreign exchange policies aimed at enhancing market transparency and attracting foreign investors.
These measures included reforms such as the unification of FX windows under the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market and the introduction of the Nigerian FX Code, which mandated ethical conduct and governance among market participants.
On the parallel market, where the naira trades unofficially, the currency exchanged at N1,660/$ at the end of 2024.
This represents a 26.8 per cent depreciation from N1,215/$ recorded at the close of 2023.
The year saw the CBN aggressively expand market-friendly policies to stabilise the FX market and attract foreign investment.
This year, the CBN announced that it had successfully cleared all valid FX backlogs, fulfilling a key commitment by Governor Olayemi Cardoso to address the inherited $7bn in outstanding claims.
In May 2024, the CBN issued revised guidelines to strengthen the operations of Bureaux de Change operators in Nigeria.
The guidelines define permissible activities for BDCs, such as sourcing foreign currency from specified entities and selling foreign exchange for purposes like Personal Travel Allowance and Business Travel Allowance.
The CBN automated foreign currency trading to replace the over-the-counter system, improving market efficiency and oversight.
Another key intervention was the direct selling of FX to BDCs at different times this year.
The apex bank also sold FX on the official market but at a minimal level.
Also, the Nigerian FX Code, introduced in October, set ethical and operational standards for market participants, with mandatory compliance deadlines by the end of 2024.
To bolster foreign reserves and reduce pressure on the naira, the apex bank initiated the Voluntary Disclosure and Repatriation Scheme, allowing individuals and businesses to deposit and invest internationally tradable foreign currencies in designated domiciliary accounts.
There was also the Nigeria Foreign Exchange Market framework, which consolidated all FX trading windows into a unified market to improve transparency and liquidity.
BDC operators were temporarily allowed direct access to buy FX from authorized dealers with a weekly cap of $25,000, a measure implemented during the festive season to meet heightened demand
Despite these interventions, the naira faced immense pressure from limited foreign exchange inflows, the widening gap between official and parallel market rates, and lingering effects of capital flight by foreign investors.
The World Bank listed the naira among the worst-performing currencies in Sub-Saharan Africa in 2024.
The depreciation of the naira is attributed to several factors, including surging demand for United States dollars in the parallel market, limited dollar inflows, and delays in foreign exchange disbursements by Nigeria’s central bank.
The World Bank’s report further highlights that demand for dollars, driven by financial institutions, non-financial end-users, and money managers, has exacerbated the pressure on the naira.
However, the International Monetary Fund has reported that the naira is showing signs of stabilisation, attributing this to recent interest rate hikes and efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to address foreign exchange backlogs.
President Bola Tinubu, during his budget presentation speech, said the proposed budget was based on the projections that inflation will decline from the current rate of 34.6 per cent to 15 per cent next year.
He projected that the exchange rate will improve from approximately N1,700 per US dollar to N1,500 and a base crude oil production assumption of 2.06 million barrels per day.
The President of the Association of Bureau De Change of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, earlier said the N1,500/$ peg in the 2025 Appropriation Bill was within reach on the back of recent foreign exchange reforms being pushed by the CBN.
However, Fitch Ratings, a global credit rating agency, noted that a larger-than-expected budget deficit in 2025 could lead to further naira depreciation, higher inflation, and increased borrowing costs, ultimately threatening the government’s reform agenda.
The communities came under simultaneous attacks just a day after the killing of 11 persons at Otobi Community also in Otukpo LGA.
Benue has in the past decade experienced incessant attacks.
Suspected herdsmen have again stepped up violent attacks as no fewer than three communities in the Otukpo Local Government Area (LGA) of Benue State were attacked on Wednesday.
The communities affected during the fresh attacks include Emichi, Odudaje, and Okpamaju all in Otukpo where five persons were killed in February. The communities came under simultaneous attacks just a day after the killing of 11 persons at Otobi Community also in Otukpo LGA.
Local sources confirm that several people may have been feared dead again in the fresh attack.
Wednesday’s attack came hours after Governor Hyacinth Alia confirmed the arrest of three suspected herders in connection with the invasion of Otobi village on Tuesday night.
When contacted, Otukpo LGA Chairman, Maxwell Ogiri, confirmed the attack on the three communities, saying that the attackers stormed the communities at the time when the Commissioner of Police was still at the Ochidoma Palace over the previous day’s attack on Otobi.
He added that three people sustained injury in the attacks on the three communities, leading to women and children abandoning the communities for fear of being killed.
“Only young men were in the communities when the attackers arrived. The prompt response from combined security operatives made the attackers flee and none of them were arrested,” Ogiri stated.
The police spokesperson in the state, Sewuese Anene, was yet to confirm details of the attacks on the three communities.
The 2023 Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has hailed the Northern Traditional Rulers for taking bold steps on the menacing security challenges in the region and in the country.
Obi, who was reacting to the ‘Enough is Enough’ declaration of the royal fathers on the security situation, said that their courageous steps are needed to find a lasting solution to the menace.
Writing on his X handle, Obi said “I would like to sincerely thank the Northern Traditional Rulers for their courageous and timely emergency declaration of the security situation in the region. I cannot agree less with them that “Enough is Enough” regarding the persistent killings and insecurity plaguing our nation.
“Their collective voice, as reported, underscores the urgent need for decisive action to protect lives and restore peace in our communities.
“I urge governments at all levels to work closely with these royal fathers who are closest to the people at the grassroots. Their commitment to addressing these challenges and offering counsel to regional governors reflects true leadership and a deep concern for the well-being of their communities.
“The stance of the Northern Traditional Rulers serves as a clarion call to all stakeholders. We must unite, irrespective of political affiliations, to implement lasting solutions that address the root causes of our nation’s challenges.
“Let us work together to build a Nigeria where every citizen feels safe, valued, and empowered.
By Emmanuel Agaji
The Rivers State High Court Chief Registrar, David D Thua-Maduenyi has rubbished speculations suggesting that Rivers Sole Administrator has been removed by the state’s High Court.
Naijablitznews reports this was contained in a statement personally signed by the Chief Registrar saying:
“My attention has been drawn to an online news report with the caption “BREAKING
NEWS: Governor Sim Fubara secures Court victory over Wike and Tinubu –
Federal High Court Orders Sole Administrator to vacate Government House”,
authored by one Joy Musa published by 247 ureports on Tuesday, 15th April, 2025.
“Ordinarily, I would not have bothered myself with any refutal, but for the
mischievous mention of the name of Hon. Justice Boma Diepriye which appears
synonymous with Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri of the Rivers State High Court in
paragraph 4 of the report thus:
“Justice Boma Diepriye, who presided over the case, ruled that the
appointment of a sole administrator to oversee the affairs of a state with
a sitting, democratically elected governor is “illegal, null and void…”
“In view of the above, I wish to state as follows:
Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri is not a Judge of the Federal High Court but a
Judge of the Rivers State High Court, and is already on Easter Vacation,
which commenced on Monday, 14th April, 2025.
“For the period of the Easter Vacation, only the vacation Judge is sitting:
and Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri is not the Vacation Judge.
“The mention of the name of Hon. Justice Boma Diepriye which is similar
with Hon. Justice Boma Diepiri of the Rivers State High Court is not only
false, but misleading, and clearly exposes the crass ignorance of the
reporter; as the Federal High Court is different from Rivers State High
Court.
“No State High Court gave any order(s) relating to or concerning the
subject matter as captioned in the online news.
“It is regrettable that some bloggers and online news reporters have traded
professionalism on the altar of pecuniary gains they seek to derive from traffic on
their social media handle and web pages.
“Henceforth, the Judiciary enjoins the general public to seek clarification on any
news report concerning the Court and official of the Court before publication.
“The general public is advised to clearly ignore the false and misleading publication.
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