Former aide to Ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on electronic media, Reno Omokri has said that should the Naira depreciate now that the President is back, then Nigerians will know that the problem rocking the country’s currency is President Muhammadu Buhari himself.
According to the Vanguard, Omokri gave the statement in a series of tweets on Monday being the day President Buhari resumed office after close to 50 days absence from both office and the country.
He said, “Naira appreciated from ₦520 to $1 to ₦455 to $1 under Osinbajo Acting Presidency. If it depreciates, then we’ll know that the problem is PMB.”
Recall that the Naira on Monday appreciated in all the major segments of the foreign exchange market. The Nigerian currency gained three points to exchange at N460, from N463 posted on Friday, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro closed at N550 and 476, respectively.
At the Bureau De Change (BDC) window, the Naira was sold at N399 to a dollar, CBN controlled rate, while the Pound Sterling and the Euro traded at N547 and N482, respectively.
Trading on the floor of the interbank market saw the Naira closed at N306.00 to a dollar. Traders at the market expressed delight in the interventions the CBN had made so far in boosting liquidity, adding that its sustenance would turn the economy around in the short to medium term.
Recall also that President Muhammadu Buhari, Monday the 13th of March, 2017 resumed office at the Aso Rock, Presidential Villa after almost 50 days medical leave in London. President Buhari returned to Nigeria last Friday, after recuperating abroad.
Recall also that President Buhari had, during campaigns, promised Nigerians he would bring the Naira to equal the Dollar.
However, when President Buhari took over the leadership of the country, the Naira began depreciating against the Dollar following the global economic downturn.
The Naira went to exchange way over N520 to $1. But, when Osinbajo started acting in President Buhari’s capacity, Nigerians saw the dollar crashing to exchange at ₦455 to $1.
But this was equally as a result of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in Forex.