A man counts Nigerian naira notes in a market place as people struggle with the economic hardship and cashflow problems ahead of Nigeria's Presidential elections, in Yola, Nigeria, February 22, 2023. REUTERS/Esa Alexander/File Photo
Traders said the central bank had removed trading restrictions on the official market, which drove the naira to a record low of 750 to the dollar on the official market, down from Tuesday's low of 477 naira to the dollar, Refinitiv Eikon data showed. Charlie Robertson, head of macro strategy at FIM Partners, said: "A much needed devaluation which takes the currency from 50% overvalued to about 5-10% . This should improve the current account and improve the long term investment climate."Tinubu inherited anaemic economic growth, record debt and shrinking oil output but he has promised to put the economy back on track and asked the public to support some painful decisions.
"What we are seeing is the removal of distortions created by inefficient pricing of foreign exchange and in the next few weeks we should start seeing the naira finding its level," Bismarck Rewane, CEO at Financial Derivatives Company.