…As Naira crashes to ?800 in parallel market
Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi, has slammed the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for moving to re-design the Naira at this time.
Recall that the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, announced on Wednesday that new naira notes would be issued by December 15, stating that the move, which has since been approved by President Buhari and other stakeholders, was certain to strengthen the value of the naira.
However, according to the cleric, in an issued statement, titled: Changing the Naira: This is no time for economic kamikaze! the plot to devalue the naira is ill-timed because it could lead to economic suicide, particularly among rural dwellers.
Gumi stated that most Nigerians rely on cash transactions and that any policy that causes further cash shortages will be disastrous for the country. According to him, the policy will not deprive kidnappers of cash, because they may decide to demand dollars and other currencies to make peoples lives more difficult.
Arguing that stealing money from the people in order to bolster commercial banks will give a few people who control the banks an unfair advantage over the general public. He characterized the naira design as certain economic suicide for the North, which is underrepresented in the banking system.
In a related development, the Nairas unprecedented depreciation reached another alarming level yesterday, and reportedly currently trading at 800 against the dollar on some parallel exchange platforms.
Checks revealed that the current parallel market rate is N800 to a dollar and N890 to British pound sterling. The naira, which had been on steady decline in value, exchanged at 785 against the dollar at the close of business on Friday. Some observers have maintained that the free fall is likely to continue as the ban on Bureau the Change (BDC) operators remains in place, in the wake of the government’s planned currency redesign in response to the countrys economic woes.
Following the latest announcement, politicians are said to have swamped the BDC operators to easily convert their soon-to-expire stockpiled naira to foreign currencies, as the apex bank gave all Nigerians six weeks to return all old naira notes to the banks vault.
