Following the conclusion of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting on Tuesday, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has injected the sum of $186.5million into the invisible and the whole Wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) segments of the forex market just as it plans to host tweet meet on recession with critical stakeholders. The apex Bank will be convening a Tweet-Meet on the economy on Thursday, May 25th, 2017 to engage opinion shapers and stakeholders on the economy in a live interactive session on Twitter. An hashtag is often used to thread a tweet-meet, and the tags #CBNSpeaks and #Rexit have been proposed.
The sum injected by CBN into the foreign exchange market is made up of $36.5 million in the invisibles, $50m for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segments and $100 in the wholesale segment. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) also approved the sale of $100 million at the Wholesale Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) auction announced on Monday, May 23, 2017.
The CBN Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, speaking to the journalists on the sideline of the MPC briefing confirmed the sales at both the invisible and wholesale segments were settled on Tuesday, May 23, 2017.
Mr. Okorafor reiterated that the CBN will continue to make every necessary intervention in the interbank market to sustain the supply of forex to meet legitimate foreign exchange demands by customers.
He stated that the efforts of the CBN in sustaining the intervention in the forex market is beginning to post some positive effects, as the Naira is making steady gain against major currencies.
This goes to reaffirms the CBN Governor’s pledge at the Tuesday Monetary Policy Committee press briefing on the need to sustain the FOREX intervention to ensure the convergence of the forex rates.
There are strong indications, according to market analysts that the Naira is likely to maintain an average exchange rate below N375 to $1 in no distant time.
CBN Hosts ‘Tweet-Meet’ to Engage Stakeholders on the Economy
The Tweet-Meet which will hold in partnership with leading Nigerian social media outfits has been themed, ‘Exiting Recession: Which Way Nigeria?’ Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics shows that theNigerian economy saw negative growth in the first quarter of 2017, contrary to the CBN’s expectations. The NBS data seems to call into question the efficacy of the Bank’s policy interventions which accelerated ending February, and may be more in line with critics’ assertions.
The planned engagement will provide an opportunity for the CBN to interact with Nigerians and indeed the global community directly, on issues related to the Bank’s policy response to the recession and the clear result of that response.
Most narratives detailing how the economic recession that hit Nigeria since 2016 iswaning do not highlight enough the Bank’s role in that achievement. With Nigeria’s economy taking a turn towards recovery, as confirmed by recent data, it is important to educate the public on some of the specific actions authorities have taken to grow the economy out of the recession. The CBN, through this event,therefore seeks to enlighten the public on the specific monetary policy actions it has taken to remedy the economic challenges.
The recent gains in the forex market have been linked to the CBN’s sustained interventions, which the Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the Bank, Dr. Isaac Okoroafor has repeatedly assured the public will be sustained in line with the CBN’s monetary policy mandate.
The Tweet-meet will give Nigerians the platform to hear directly from the Apex Bank and gain reliable insights into the health of the economy, the economic outlook going forward, and how they can position themselves and their businesses to benefit from government policies.
