The naira yesterday dropped to a four-month low against the dollar, trading at N575 per dollar at the parallel market. The local currency was weaker than N570 per dollar it traded for two weeks before petrol scarcity hit major cities including Lagos, Port Harcourt, Abuja, among others.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday decried the level of abuse of naira, describing it as becoming unbearable. The apex bank said the abuse is a criminal offence that would attract legal punishment.
However, the naira remained stable at the Investors & Exporters (I&E) forex window (official market) where it closed at N416.37 per dollar. Currency dealer with AZA Finance, Murega Mungai, said: “We expect the Naira to remain at this level-the weakest against the dollar since October-until the fuel supply shortage recedes in the coming weeks”.
He added: “The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) said it expects at least 2.3 billion litres of petrol to arrive in the next two weeks as it scrambles to ease supply shortages following the recall of ‘dirty fuel’ that had been circulating across the country.
