Economy
Fear as Naira Devalues to N765/$1 at Black Market
By Dipo Olowookere
The exchange rate of the Naira to the Dollar in the black market window of the foreign exchange (forex) market in Nigeria is not looking good, and this has heightened fears among traders and investors.
For investors, it has almost become an everyday affair for the Nigerian currency to lose its value against the United States currency because holding the Naira is risky, especially for portfolio investors.
For FX traders on the streets, the market is becoming too volatile, and they are very cautious that things might swing either way anytime soon. Each day is treated as if it were the last.
At the unofficial market on Tuesday, the Naira was traded against the greenback at N765/$1, in contrast to N760/$1 it was transacted on Monday, indicating a decline of N5 or 0.66 per cent in less than 24 hours.
“We don’t even understand what is happening at the moment,” one of the FX traders in Lagos, Alhaji Isa, told Business Post this afternoon.
“I hope you remember I told you last month that if care was not taken, the Naira would hit N750/$1 this month. Has this not come to pass?” Alhaji Isa asked.
“You see, the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria) and the banks are not helping matters. They need to resume the sale of Dollars to us; we understand the market and can ease the pressure on the Naira,” he submitted.
In June 2022, the president of the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr Aminu Gwadabe, blamed the central bank for the steady fall of the value of the local currency against the greenback at the market.
In an interview with The Punch, he said some of the regulatory policies of the apex bank were affecting the Naira value in the FX market.
“There are a lot of inhibitive regulatory policies. In Nigeria now, for you to say you have a licence to operate as International Money Transfer Operator, the capitalisation is N2 billion for a local company.
“A foreign company comes in and gets a licence at $1 million. How much is $1 million compared to N2 billion or N600 million?
“This is for a foreign company that wants a licence of IMTO, but for a citizen, you have to cough out N2 billion? So, it is not encouraging small players,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
