The Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) efforts to unify the official and parallel market exchange rates have encountered significant challenges as the naira continues to depreciate across multiple trading platforms.
Currently, the US dollar trades at N1,641.55 in the parallel market, marking a -3.357 per cent drop from N1,545/$1 recorded on December 11. Peer-to-peer platforms such as Trove and Bamboo report even higher rates of N1,725 to N1,736 per dollar, widening the gap with the official market rate by over N200.
In the past week, the naira-dollar exchange rate fluctuated between a high of N1,698.57 and a low of N1,495.51, with the most significant 24-hour price jump—a 6.603 per cent increase—occurring on December 8.
Peer-to-peer (P2P) exchanges and platforms like Trove and Bamboo echoed the alarming trend, quoting rates between N1,725 and N1,736 per dollar. These rates are now over N200 apart from the official market rate, indicating a failure to bridge the gap between the two exchange mechanisms.
Analysts warn the recent uptick in the naira’s value could be a “dead cat bounce,” a temporary recovery driven by speculative trading rather than sustained market improvements.
Dr. Olumide Adesina, a currency market analyst, remarked, “The widening gap reflects inefficiencies in the unification process. Speculators remain active, leveraging persistent demand for dollars from businesses and individuals hedging against further naira devaluation.”
Tunde Bakare, a financial strategist, noted that the supply-demand imbalance persists despite the CBN’s measures. He added, “External pressures, including higher crude oil revenues, haven’t trickled down effectively to stabilize the currency. This raises questions about policy coordination.”
