Apex bank, forex officers to meet over Naira freefall

folarin okunola

February 1, 2016 9:43 AM

This comes just a few days after the CBN, supported by the presidency, insisted that the Naira will not be devalued.

Central Bank Governor Godwin Emefiele speaks at the monthly MPC meeting in Abuja, Nigeria, September 22, 2015. REUTERS/Afolabi Sotunde

According to various media reports, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has fixed a meeting of foreign exchange (forex) officers of banks and other authorised dealers as the Naira continued to maintain an average value of N306 to the dollar at the parallel market on Friday.

This comes just a few days after the CBN, supported by the presidency, insisted that the Naira will not be devalued.

According to a circular signed by Olakanmi Gbadamosi, Director of the Trade & Exchange Department at the CBN, to all authorized dealers on the CBN Website, the meeting shall afford participants the opportunity “to discuss developments in the forex market in the last quarter of 2015 and offer contributions in charting the direction for 2016.”

READ: Apex bank warns Nigerians of hard times ahead, says oil slump to continue

Other agencies expected at the meeting include the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC).

The meeting is scheduled to hold in Lagos on Thursday, February 4, according to a Nigeria CommunicationsWeek report.

The Naira lost a point from the N305 to a dollar it had previously exchanged, a depreciation of 0.3 per cent. However, it closed at N197 to the dollar at the official Central Bank of Nigeria rate.

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