Buy made in Nigeria goods, services to stabilise the Naira—Tinubu

President Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to intentionally patronise made-in-Nigeria products and services so as to sustain the steady appreciation of the naira. Tinubu said the appreciation of the naira at the foreign exchange market did not call for celebration yet, but rather, enjoined Nigeria to work harder to sustain the gains. Ajuri Ngelale, the Presidential Spokesman, delivered President Tinubu’s message during a briefing of State House Correspondent on Friday, Tinubu, however, charged citizens to blow the whistle, but expose those they see engaging in currency sharp practices.

He said part of the reason for the administration’s efforts to achieve a strong Naira was to achieve ease for the working Nigerian, especially when the new minimum wage comes to effect. The exchange rate of the Naira to other international currencies had steadily slid into a weak position since the government introduced a policy to float the currency last year, in an attempt to curb currency arbitrage  However, the Naira maintained a steady appreciation against the United States Dollar on Thursday, gaining N18 to close N1,382/$ at the official market. The Naira further firmed to N1,312.51 per dollar during mid-day trades on Friday, LSEG data showed, after the central bank said late on Wednesday it had cleared its entire verified foreign exchange backlog.

The Naira, which has hit repeated lows since a devaluation in January, its second in less than a year, traded at N1,301 per dollar . The central bank on Wednesday said it had paid commercial bank customers $1.5 billion to settle outstanding obligations that put the local currency under pressure. The Naira last month fell to a low of N1,778.25 to the dollar, weighed down by high demand for the U.S. currency and outstanding forwards on the currency that needed to be settled by the central bank.