The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on behalf of the federal government, increased the exchange rate for cargo clearance to N1,605 per dollar on Tuesday.
News About Nigeria reports that this is not the first time the exchange rate has increased in the last few months.
The exchange rate has been reviewed upward about 7 times since President Bola Tinubu came into power in May 2023.
It was first reviewed in June 2023 and adjusted from N422.30 per dollar to N589 per dollar.
The first adjustment, according to reports, didn’t last long, as it was again adjusted the next month, which was July, making it N770.88 per dollar.
Also, the apex bank, on November 14, 2023, made another adjustment to the exchange rate, rising from N770.88/$1 to N783.174/$1.
Again, in December 2023, another adjustment was implemented as the exchange rate rose from N783.174 per dollar to N951.941 per dollar.
The fifth adjustment was made on February 2, 2024, when the CBN increased the exchange rate from N951.941 per dollar to a whopping N1,356.883 per dollar.
The National President of the Association of Nigerian Licenced Customs Agents, Emenike Nwokeoji, stated that the consistent increase in the exchange rate is not just affecting customs agents but the general public.
He further noted that the impact of the huge rise in the exchange rate of imports is negative for the masses, as people will no longer be able to have access to essentials like drugs.
Speaking further, Nwokeoji noted that there are some essential medicines, such as inhalers, that are no longer within the reach of common Nigerians as the market price is now over the rooftop.
“We are talking of food but the implication of it is beyond food alone. There are people who survive on certain drugs on a daily basis. Right now, the drugs are not within their reach. The implication is that the death toll might rise as a result of this,” he lamented.
He, therefore, called on the federal government to stabilise the exchange rate for the good of the masses, as Nigerians are currently going through difficult times.
