The Nigerian currency crashed to a historic low against the British Pound Sterling after crossing the symbolic N1000 mark at the parallel market.
The British Pound traded around N1005/£1 while the Euro sold for about N865-N870/$1.
The rapid depreciation of the naira will likely affect inflation and encourage massive immigration of Nigerians to more stable economies.
Speaking to a Bureau De Change operator in Lagos, the dollar rate appreciated, going from N890/N895 for $1 on Sunday, to N900; while another stated that it rose to N880 on Monday.
According to a Bureau De Change operator, the hike in dollar rate is caused by the plan of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to redesign the naira.
It was learnt that people are bringing out their naira to buy dollars for keeps, so they can use it to buy the new redesigned naira notes when it’s released in December.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have taken to social media to lament the dwindling fortune of the Naira against the Dollar which now goes for between N880 and N900 depending on the traders.
Twitter user, OroGbiniie, complained about how the decline of the naira would affect the salary earned. He said: “£1=1000 naira. An average worker in Nigeria earns between 100k-120k , which means the average salary in this country is £120 .
Buwa Memeh expressed his displeasure with the government. He claimed that the naira crashing to N1000/£1 was due to the incompetence of the government. He said: “In @MBuhari’s Nigeria, 1000 naira = 1 pound. The most incompetent President, Worst CBN governor, and most incompetent Finance Minister all serving at the same time and you expect Nigeria to grow.”
Dr Idara Umoette complained about the massive increase in the price of imported products. She said: “I thought this when the pound crossed the N1,000 mark. A skincare product that costs 80 pounds was 20-something thousand some years ago. Today? 80k pere.”
