The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied devaluing the naira contrary to a report in a national newspaper.
Dr Isa AbdulMumin, Ag. Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN in a statement issued Thursday described the publication as false and destabilising innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
The statement reads in part: “The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a report by a national newspaper of June 1, 2023, titled ‘CBN Devalues Naira To 630/$1’.
“We wish to state categorically that this news report, which in the imagination of the newspaper is exclusive, is replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilizing innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
“For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at N465/US$1 and has been stable around this rate for a while.
“The public is hereby advised to ignore the news report by the national newspaper in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market. Media practitioners are advised to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.”
A news outlet had reported that the CBN had devalued the naira to N631 to the dollar from N461.6, adding that “The devaluation came 48 hours after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu announced the plans of the Federal Government to unify the country’s exchange rate to stimulate the economy.”
Market watchers expressed concern over the devaluation story, saying it was capable of creating serious instability in the money market that is already under foreign exchange pressure.
