Nigeria’s Currency Will Depreciate Further To N800 Per Dollar, Ex- Aviation Minister Warns

Nigeria’s currency has lost most of its value and former government officials are projecting the naira will depreciate further than the N710 against the United States dollar.

Osita Chidoka, a former Minister of Aviation said on Tuesday that he anticipates the currency to crash to N800 against the dollar soon.

He said during an interview on Arise TV Morning Show that the government is “funding foreign exchange subsidies to keep naira at N400/$. The dollar is selling at N700/$ at the black market creating a N300 difference between the official and parallel market rate.

“This (N700) is almost double the money and I am sure it will hit N800 soon,” he said.

According to him, most people who buy dollars from the government at N400 for import are using the black market rate to sell their goods.

“So, if you want to buy any item at the market, you are going to pay at the black-market rate, meanwhile, they get the dollar at N400 margin subsidy from the government and also make their profit from the business,” he added.

The former aviation minister also faulted government spending to subsidize the importation of petroleum products which stands at a monthly average of N236.87bn.

In 2023, the government has projected N6.7trn to be channeled in subsidy payment.

“We are not only borrowing to pay salaries, as you can see, we are borrowing to pay debt. It is immoral for a government to see that the country is on its knees financially and yet we are not able to discuss the issue of fuel subsidy.

He said it is surprising that the National Assembly has not queried the ailing state of the Naira and the monetary authority responsible for them as well as the electricity crisis.

Meanwhile, the senate had invited the Central Bank Governor on the country’s foreign exchange quagmire and naira depreciation.