CHANGE: See How Naira Fared Since Buhari Became President of Nigeria

The Nigerian Naira is currently going through one of its darkest times in the parallel market.

Since Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as President of Nigeria, the naira has gone through several stages of depreciation culminating in its current price of around N305 per dollar.



It's been a journey of change from when Nigeria was kicked out by JP Morgan in September to the realization that external reserves can no longer support yearnings.

The situation further deteriorated sometime in November after the CBN introduced a rash of policies that further reduced access to the dollars by the BDCs. Things got worse this year after the CBN kicked the BDC’s out of its forex markets and after the President affirmed it has not seen any reason to devalue.

CBN has refused to devalue the naira for the third time since 2013. This is as the parallel market continues to depreciate the value of the naira following demand by speculators and those who genuinely need it for transactions.

Things are unlikely to change even if the CBN decides it wants to devalue today. The pent-up demand cannot be met especially if oil prices continue to dip.