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Why the Naira Has Fallen Against the Dollar

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Free-fall, nose-dive, and rock-bottom; are some of the words that have been used in the same sentence as the Nigerian naira in recent times.

The continued plummeting of the currency of Africa's most populous nation against the dollar continues to headline major conversations on the financial front. 

It seems there may be no end in sight in the immediate, and that uncertainty puts all in a spot of bother in the long run.

Furthermore, legion are the reasons for the plunge, which is adversely affecting the nation's economy. 

But the Chief Economist and Partner of West Africa Financial Services at PwC, Andrew Nevin, has put the naira-dollar conundrum into perspective.

In conversation with Joyce Onyemuwa on the Sunny Side, he revealed the reasons why the dollar has left the naira in its wake. 

According to him, people simply don't want the naira like they do the dollar.

"If you want a strong naira, you've got to have people want the naira," he said.

"People don't want the naira for a number of reasons right now. One reason is that we have high inflation and we still have a very difficult business environment.

"If you invest in the Nigerian equity market, you're going to find you lose money, so many people don't want it (the naira). What do they want to do with it?"

The coronavirus pandemic and global inflation got the naira under more pressure, according to the Chief Economist.

Yet, more could have been done to forestall the situation. 

His detailed explanation is in the video.


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