Nigeria’s central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele will unveil a new currency policy on Wednesday afternoon in Abuja, the capital, according to a spokesman.
The governor’s announcement will be televised, Isaac Okorafor said by phone from Abuja.
Emefiele has faced calls for more than a year to devalue the currency, as other oil exporters from Russia to Kazakhstan and Angola have done, amid a rout in crude prices since mid-2014 to around $ 50 a barrel. Investment into Nigeria has shriveled as foreigners are put off by capital controls needed to defend the currency’s peg of 197-199 per dollar, while local businesses have struggled to import raw materials and equipment.
Emefiele said last month the central bank would implement a “flexible” exchange-rate policy to help alleviate a dollar shortage that has strangled the economy.
Emefiele said last month the central bank would implement a “flexible” exchange-rate policy to help alleviate a dollar shortage that has strangled the economy.