On June 1, 2023, Daily Trust newspaper exclusively reported with the headline “CBN Devalues Naira To 630/$1”. On its Twitter page, the news has received over 426k views at the time of writing. It has also been retweeted 493 times.
On Wait First, we divide claims into three categories. A valid claim is a fresh banana. A false claim is a burnt dodo. And a misleading claim is cold zobo.
So, how valid is this claim?
Background
According to the news report by Daily Trust, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) devalued the naira from ₦461.6 to ₦631 to the dollar. It then sold at the new rate in the “Importers and Exporters (I&E)” window on May 31.
Nigeria currently runs a multiple exchange rate system. The CBN provides its rates, and the parallel market, commonly known as the black market, provides another. The gulf between the two creates arbitrage. This is a situation where people trade in currencies by taking advantage of differing prices for the same currency.
As of May 31, the CBN’s rate was ₦461.26 to the dollar.
The black market rate for the same day was ₦750 to the dollar.
Verification
Not long after the news report was released, the CBN released a screenshot describing it as “fake news”.
The CBN then followed up with a statement signed by its acting director of corporate communications, Isa AbdulMumin. It read:
“The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a news report by Daily Trust Newspaper of June 1, 2023, titled ‘CBN Devalues Naira To 630/$1’.
We wish to state categorically that this news report, which in the imagination of the newspaper is exclusive, is replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilising innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the Investors’ and Exporters’ (I&E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at ₦465/$ and has been stable around this rate for a while.
The public is hereby advised to ignore this news report by Daily Trust in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market.
Media practitioners are advised to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.”
Verdict
The CBN has come out to state that the claim by Daily Trust is emphatically false. Therefore this news is nothing but burnt dodo.
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