Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga has advised forex speculators hoarding dollars to dump them to avoid “tears”.
According to him, the naira’s recent surge in value will continue and result in losses for those hoarding dollars.
The presidential aide said this while reacting to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s disclosure that it had cleared the $7 billion foreign exchange backlog inherited by Governor Yemi Cardoso.
The CBN had disclosed this through a Wednesday statement signed by Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Hakama Sidi Ali, in Abuja.
She noted that the CBN recently concluded the payment of $1.5 billion to settle obligations to bank customers, effectively settling the residual balance of the FX backlog.
Ali also disclosed that independent auditors from Deloitte Consulting meticulously assessed these transactions, ensuring that only legitimate claims were honoured.
The CBN spokesperson added that any invalid transactions were promptly referred to the relevant authorities for further scrutiny.
Reacting, Onanuga said, “With backlog FX settled, Naira is set to appreciate further, faster. Currency speculators should quickly dump their stock of dollars to avoid sorrows and tears.”