JUST IN: Naira Hits N755/$ At I&E Window As CBN Grants Banks Freedom To Trade Forex At Any Rate

The naira is currently trading at N750-N755 per dollar at the investors and exporters (I&E) window.

This follows the directive of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Wednesday allowing commercial banks to freely trade foreign exchange at any rate.

The development came barely two weeks after President Bola Tinubu promised to unify the nation’s multiple exchange rates.

The present market rate is said to be a “willing buyer, willing seller” arrangement.

This implies that Nigeria has eased its control of the naira, allowing the local currency to freely float. 

A free-floating exchange rate occurs when a government allows the exchange rate to be determined purely by market forces and there is no attempt to ask the central bank to influence the external  value of the exchange rate.

The development comes days after the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as CBN governor by President Bola Tinubu.

Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, deputy governor, operations directorate, is expected to act as the CBN governor pending the conclusion of an investigation ordered by the president into Emefiele’s activities.

The Department of State Services (DSS) later announced that Emefiele is currently in its custody for “some investigative reasons”.