Popular online currency quote platform AbokiFx has indicated the possibility of resuming the publication of naira rates after the suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele, who moved against the platform two years ago.
AbokiFx asked its followers if it should resume and by Thursday an overwhelming majority had voted yes.
– Unorthodox model
Mr Emefiele was suspended and arrested weekend. The State Security Service said on Saturday he was detained for unexplained “investigative reasons.” Folashodun Shonubi, a deputy governor in charge of operations at the bank, took over in an acting capacity.
Mr Emefiele’s nine-year tenure became known for sometimes conflicting monetary policies and much-criticised multiple exchange rates that limited foreign investment. One of the unorthodox methods the bank applied in trying to fix chronic dollar shortages was to go after AbokiFX, which provided daily updates on black market rates on the naira.
The governor said in September 2021 that as part of the bank’s bid to crack down on illegal currency trading, its investigations had shown that AbokiFx was being used to manipulate forex rates.
He accused the its publisher, Oniwinde Adedotun, of being involved in “illegal forex trading”.
“There was a time we asked our colleagues to call the abokiFX to ask how he conducts the rates,” he said. “Mr Oniwinde is an illegal Fx dealer that has inflow and sold tens of millions of fx to several Nigerian companies in contravention of the Fx law. He directly benefits from the rates he quotes daily on his website.”
At the time, the CBN had been under pressure following the naira’s fall to 570 after the central bank stopped sales of dollars to Bureaux De Change operators.
AbokiFx denied wrongdoing but suspended the publication of naira rates after being accused of forex manipulation.
– Coming back
The platform indicated it may return to publishing, asking its followers on Twitter to vote on whether to publish or not.
With six days left, 96% of the over 5,100 voters supported a comeback.
The platform did not say whether it will abide by the outcome of the vote. It did not immediately respond to a Pluboard’s request for comment.
When a user asked if it will be “coming back”, it responded: “We never left.”
– Reforms
The CBN on Wednesday removed restrictions on naira’s exchange rate, the first time since 2016, allowing the currency to trade freely.
The move drove the naira to a record low of 750 to the dollar on the official market, down from Tuesday’s N477. It reached a low of N791 on Wednesday before rallying back to N664.04.
At the black market, where the dollar traded at N745 Wednesday morning, traders in Abuja told Pluboard the rate stood at between N747 and N750 by Thursday morning.
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