By John Ikani
The exchange rate between the naira and the US dollar has fallen to a record low on the black market, trading at a minimum of N730/$1 on Thursday morning.
The crash which comes in the wake of the official commencement of political campaigns, conflates with continuous scarcity of forex and increased demand in the market.
Politicians are said to be buying and hoarding the greenback for their campaigns as 2023 election fast approaches.
The rate at N730/$1 is the highest on record with Bureau De Change operators in Lagos and Abuja confirming that they sold dollars for as high as N735/$1 and buy between N725/$1 and N730/$1.
However, at the Importers and Exporters Window, rate still hovered around N430/$.
Analyst said the naira had weakened in the parallel market due to increased speculations, falling external reserves, and low foreign exchange inflows.
Nigeria’s forex reserves stood at $38.5bn on Wednesday, which was a drop by $1.8bn from $40.5bn recorded in January 2022.
