The tenure of Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), from June 2014 to when he was suspended, shows that the Naira lost about 76.17% of its value.
Emefiele’s tenure as the CBN governor, saw the official exchange rate of the Naira to the US dollar fall from ₦164 to ₦462.4.
On the parallel market, the Naira depreciated by 76.17% exchanging at a rate of ₦183 to a $1 in 2014, to ₦768 to a $1 in 2023.
The Nigerian local currency lost significant value under Emefiele than most CBN governors since 1999.
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Emefiele’s Failed Policies
Emefiele had in a bid to manage the value of the Naira, introduced a number of policies, such as stopping Forex supply to importers of 41 items that could be produced locally.
And also, offering ₦5 for every $1 remitted to Nigeria through Internal Money Transfer Organisations, and stopping the supply of Forex to Bureaux De Change, among others.
The CBN, in March 2021, introduced the ‘Naira 4 Dollar Scheme’, intended to boost the inflow of Diaspora remittances into Nigeria.
This programme works by paying Diaspora remittance recipients an incentive of ₦5 for every $1 received through a licensed IMT operator.
Also in May 2021, the CBN adopted the NAFEX rate as the benchmark rate. An initiative meant to unify the multiple official rates (CBN rate at N379/$ vs. IEFX rate of N410/$ at the time).
In July 2021, the CBN announced the discontinuation of foreign exchange sales to BDC operators.
Emefiele alleged that some BDCs’ actions contravened the agreement with the apex bank by seeking to maximize profits, which he deemed excessive.
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In February 2022, the CBN extended the Naira for dollar scheme from the IMTOs to the IEFX window.
However, these policies have not been able to stabilise the Naira.
Also, the World Bank disagreed with the CBN on how it tried to achieve price stabilisation of the Naira.
