For the second time in the last months, the CBN appears to have further adjusted the official rates of naira/dollar. The rate is now down from N360.1/$1 to N380/$1 according to its website. The CBN has not announced any devaluation and if it is unifying the exchange rates across markets in Nigeria.
However, it might seem that way since the assurance of unifying around the NAFEX rate that investors got from Godwin Emefiele CBN governor is overdue.
More so, the approval meeting for the $3 billion loans which the country requested from the world bank is tied around the unification. The meeting which was to be on Aug. 6 appears to be on hold due to the delay in unification.
Speaking at an Investors Conference in June, Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance Nigeria said, “the amount we are raising in the first instance is $1.5 billion for FG”. “Around September October we are hoping to close out on the facility meant for states and the amount is meant to be $1-1.5 billion”.
If the approval meeting holds in the coming the week, the world bank facility will be released. Both the states and federal governments will be beneficiaries of the fund. The current official rate as well as the devalued rate at the SMIS window, are still subject to change. This is, however, still the closest that the CBN has come to unifying exchange rates across Nigeria.
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