Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund

Nigerian currency, Naira, appreciated to N1,380 per dollar on the parallel market on Friday, posting a gain of N70 in one single day, compared to Thursday’s close of N1,450/$1.

On the other hand, the the local currency weakened to N1,339.23/$1 on the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) window, representing a N29.42 decline, compared to the N1,309.81/$1 it closed at on Wednesday.

However, daily turnover on the NAFEM declined by 2.85 per cent to $309.01 million compared to $318.08 million the previous day.

The highest spot rate stood at N1,410, with the lowest recorded at N1,051.

Meanwhile, as part of efforts to attract and accelerate inflow of foreign currency into the economy, the federal government has unveiled plans to float a $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund.

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The move is expected to among other things, improve FX liquidity in the system as well as strengthen the Naira exchange rate.

The Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Doris Uzoka-Anite, in a notice shared on her X handle (formerly Twitter), yesterday, revealed that the Nigeria Diaspora Fund Multi-sectoral Investment Initiative would be designed and managed by fund managers selected through an Expression of Interest (EOI) exercise where winners are expected to emerge.

Owing to this, the ministry has issued an EOI Expression to fund managers for the development and establishment of a multisectoral, multilateral private sector-led investment fund to form the $10 billion Nigeria Diaspora Fund.

Newstrends recalls that Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, had recently said Nigerians living in diaspora remained a key source of foreign capital projection, adding that a diaspora bond would be launched by June.

Naira gains marginally at parallel market as FG plans for diaspora fund

Safety: NCAA to audit all domestic airlines, says Aviation minister

Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Festus Keyamo, has said the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) will carry out a comprehensive audit on all local airlines over safety concerns.

This is coming after a runway incursion incident in which Dana Air’s plane carrying 83 passengers with six crew members skidded the runway at the Lagos airport leading to diversion of flights

The operations of Dana Air were immediately suspended and NCAA directed to commence a comprehensive audit on the airline.

Keyamo spoke on the general audit of all domestic airlines on Thursday when he appeared on Channels TV Politics Today programme.
He said beyond the suspension of Dana Airlines and the ongoing audit of the airline, all other carriers in the country would be audited to guarantee the safety of passengers and the health of the civil aviation industry.

The directive to suspend the operations of the Dana Air was contained in a letter issued and endorsed by the NCAA Acting Director General, Chris Najomo, in Abuja.

It is the second time within two years that the NCAA would suspend the airline’s operational licence over safety violations.

It said the latest action was based on “elevated safety concerns” posed by the airline.

“As a precautionary step, and in accordance with Sec 31 (7) of the Civil Aviation Act 2022, the Authority has imposed a suspension on your Air Operator Certificate (AOC) with effect from 24″ April, 2024 at 23:59 to allow for a thorough safety and economic audit,” the letter partly read.

The NCAA also stated, “The safety audit will entail a re-inspection of your organisation, procedures, personnel, and aircraft as specified by Part 1.3.3.3 of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Regulations, while the economic audit will critically examine the financial health of your airline to guarantee its capability to sustain safe flight operations.”

Anxiety as dollar exchanges for N1,420/$ on parallel market

There are fears prices of essential goods including food items in Nigeria may begin to rise again as naira witnessed a major slide against the United States dollar at the foreign exchange market on Thursday.

The naira fell to N1,309/$ on the official market and N1,420 on the parallel market, according to multiple sources.

This indicates a fall of N90 or 6.8 per cent from N1,330 recorded on Wednesday.

The latest downward trend in naira rate after recording appreciable gain for some weeks followed high demand for dollars.

A report by The Punch quoted currency traders at the popular Wuse Zone 4 market in Abuja as buying the greenback note at N1,340 and selling at N1,420, leaving a profit margin of N80.

In Lagos, a trader Ibrahim Garba told Newstrends that the naira-dollar rate changes almost hourly.

“It was selling at N1,380/$ at 11am today (on Thursday) and by 2pm, it had moved to N1,400/$,” he said.

The naira has this lost 26.2 per cent in two weeks when compared to N1,125/$ on April 12, 2023 on the parallel market.

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday approved the allocation of $15.83 million to 1,583 BDC operators.

This was aimed at enhancing liquidity in the unofficial market.

The CBN in a letter to BDCs announced the allocation of $10,000 to operators across the country.

The allocation came at N1,021)$, aimed at stabilsing the foreign exchange market and ensuring accessibility of foreign currency to eligible end users.

Last weekend, the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, said the Naira was declared the best-performing currency globally as of April 2024.

The naira was about the worst currency in March when it fell to as low as N1,600/$1 on the official market and N1800/$1 on the parallel market