A former presidential aide, Bashir Ahmad, has blamed the naira’s steady slip in the foreign exchange market on Nigerians’ heavy reliance on cryptocurrency platforms.
As the value of the naira declines against the dollar, Ahmad expressed concern that many Nigerians rely on crypto platforms that are not responsible for regulating currencies in the country.
In a post via his official X account on Wednesday, he highlighted the need to immediately address the situation.
“To be honest, the crypto exchange platforms are causing more harm than good to our system. Many people are relying on these platforms that have no business being our forex regulator to get their exchange rates. When the rate goes up on these platforms, it automatically goes up in the Bureau De Change. It should be fixed!” Ahmad wrote.
It was earlier reported players were buying a dollar for N1800 and selling at N1825 on Tuesday 20th February 2024.
The continuous decline in the value of the naira has made life difficult for Nigerians, as commodity prices continue to rise.
Recall that the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Hans Essaadi, stated that due to the current economic situation in Nigeria, citizens are finding it difficult to afford beer.
According to Bloomberg, NB incurred a foreign exchange loss of N153 billion attributed to the devaluation of the naira for the year ending December 2023.
NB increased the prices of its products in August 2023 to offset the continuous surge in input costs.
Among the alcoholic beverages produced by NB are Star Lager, Gulder, Legend Extra Stout, Heineken, Goldberg, Life, and Star Radler.