•Quotes N800/$1 •As buyers flood market for FX
By Chinwendu Obienyi
Following the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the parallel market foreign exchange rates aggregator, AbokiFX has made a comeback with its live exchange rate publication.
The platform returned with a live exchange rate publication and released the latest foreign exchange figures based on the parallel market rates in Nigeria, especially from Lagos.
AbokiFX had suspended its live update of the parallel market rates after its owner, Olusegun Oniwinde, came under investigation by the CBN. Emefiele at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting in September 2021, accused Oniwinde of using the platform for forex fraud, manipulations and speculations by acquiring forex to make a profit, while describing him as an illegal trader.
However, the platform, a go-to place for forex buyers and sellers in Nigeria, returned as the CBN announced the collapse of the exchange rates last month.
For instance, as of Monday, July 10, 2023, the platform quoted the naira to the dollar at N790 and N795 for buying and selling. It also displayed Pounds rates at N1,005 for buying and selling, respectively.
The platform also quoted that the Euro traded at the buying rate of N845 and selling rate of N850.
Investigations revealed that the platform quoted the Naira to the dollar at N795 and N800 for buying and selling while pounds rose to N1015 and N1,020 for buying and selling respectively.
Meanwhile, many forex buyers have opted for the parallel black market to access dollars because of the zero documentation required to conclude transactions.
The rush for dollars at the parallel market comes following implementation of a new FX purchase law requiring buyers to present Tax Clearance Certificates (TCC) to banks and other authorised dealers. With most buyers not having the required tax clearance certificates to buy at the official Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, the demand has now moved to the parallel market, where buyers are only required to have cash or make transfers.