Some Clowns Celebrating Naira Fall To N1500 – Vice President Shettima

Vice President Kashim Shettima has voiced his frustration at some Nigerians whom he said were celebrating the rapid fall of the nation’s currency, the naira, calling them “clowns.”

Shettima who is never short of expletives and is usually in a combative mood made the statement while speaking as a representative of the President, Bola Tinubu at an event organised by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday in a video shared by Symfoni.

The naira has been rapidly depreciating in an astonishing manner with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), instigating frantic monetary policies in its bid to stem the tide due to scarcity of the greenback.

Africa’s biggest economy is experiencing new challenges putting the naira under pressure since Bola Tinubu, the president, came to power on May 29, 2023.

The rate at the official window closed above the parallel market, often referred to as the ‘black market’, on Tuesday at the close of trading, raising concern on the direction of the country’s economy.

At the so-called Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) window, the naira was 1,482:57 per dollar according to the data published by the FMDQ, which calculates the exchange rate.

That was above the black market rate which closed at 1,475 raising serious alarm and frantic apex bank intervention.

And on Wednesday, the naira rose above N1,500 before retreating to above N1,400 as of Thursday and above N1,300 on Friday according to reports by FMDQ, following CBN intervention.

Shettima did not take kindly to social media reports which he said were not only disheartening but disenchanting.

He descended on those he said were celebrate the fall, saying, ‘”It is not only disheartening and disenchanting, but also heartbreaking that yesterday when the Naira culminated to N1,500 to the dollar, instead of us to coagulate into a single force and salvage our nation economy, sadly, some clowns are celebrating on Twitter of an impending implosion of the Nigerian economy.”