The nation’s currency, the naira, has taken a downturn, emerging as the world’s worst performing currency in the past month, a recent Bloomberg report says.

The reversal came after naira’s recent gains, emerging as the world’s worst-performing currency after a wonderful performance last month.

The report, which emerged on Friday, emphasised that the development has placed increased pressure on the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to continue raising interest rates.

The local currency depreciated to 1,466.31 against the dollar, marking its weakest level since March 20.

According to the report, the decline is attributed to the local scarcity of the US currency, with only $84 million available on Thursday, half of the previous day’s supply.

Yemi Cardoso, CBN governor, had previously hailed the naira as the best-performing currency globally as of April 2024.

The naira faced challenges in March, plummeting to as low as N1,600/$1 on the official market and N1800/$1 on the parallel market.

However, the CBN governor attributed the achievement to a series of foreign exchange market reforms and positive sentiment from leading international investment institutions.

The Chief Economist for Africa and the Middle East at Standard Chartered, Razia Khan, spoke with Bloomberg, estimating that $1.3 billion in naira futures will mature at the end of this month, potentially dampening market sentiment.

“The belief is that this will create more demand for dollars.

“When the currency appreciated very fast, there had been a bout of profit-taking by offshore investors, and this meant that the dollar-naira exchange rate backed up again.

“This is completely in line with the functioning market,” she said.

The report further pointed out that the decline in the naira’s performance is expected to intensify pressure on the CBN to implement another rate hike after its upcoming policy meeting on May 21.

The report noted that the Central Bank increased rates by a total of 600 basis points in February and March, saying this aided the naira in rebounding from its low of 1,627 naira on March 8 to 1,072 in mid-April, as investors sought out higher-yielding local assets.

The weakness of the naira was also seen in the unofficial market, where it depreciated by 0.9% to N1,468 against the dollar on Friday.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has asked the government to stop foreign missions in Nigeria from charging visa and other consular services in foreign denominations.

It has also advised all embassies to adopt Nigeria’s regulatory regime in fixing the exchange rate of the cost of their services.

It said offering consular services in foreign denominations undermines Nigeria’s monetary policy and aspiration for sustainable economic development.

The EFCC gave the advisory in a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Yusuf Tuggar, for onward transmission to all foreign missions in the country.

Diplomatic sources said yesterday that some embassies were wondering whether the EFCC’s advisory represented the position of the Federal Government.

In the letter, the EFCC said it issued the advisory because the practice of paying for consular services in dollars was in conflict ‘with extant laws and financial regulations in Nigeria. Section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.

A middle-aged man who previously claimed in a viral video to be a son of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi, has issued a public apology to the monarch, retracting his earlier assertions.

JomogNews reports that the apology came after the man’s initial claim sparked considerable controversy and prompted a response from the Ooni’s palace.

In the controversial video, the individual, dressed in a traditional white Agbada, asserted that Oba Ogunwusi had instructed him and his mother to remain discreet about his lineage.

“Oba Enitan Ogunwunsi is my father. He hid me with my mother with a clear instruction that I must not reveal myself,” the man claimed in Yoruba.

However, the Ooni’s spokesman, Moses Olafare, quickly refuted these claims, labelling them as impersonation and noting that the matter had been escalated to security agencies.

Olafare clarified that the individual was neither a child of Ooni Ogunwusi nor related to any lineage of the Ogunwusi royal family or the Giesi Royal Compound of Ile-Ife.

In a subsequent video that surfaced online on Friday, the man expressed remorse for the confusion and potential distress his initial claims might have caused.

He explained that his actions were driven by a series of dreams involving the Ooni, which he interpreted as significant.

According to him, these dreams led him to believe he had a special connection with the monarch, prompting his public appeal.

“I have a reason for creating that video. In 2022, I found myself beside the Ooni in my dream, engaging in discussions,” he said.

Despite attempting to meet the Ooni in person and failing, he created the video as a last-ditch effort to get noticed.

The man, who did not reveal his name in either video, pleaded with the Ooni for understanding, stating, “My esteemed father, please do not be displeased with me. I did not create the video to defame you; rather, I made it to attract your attention so that I could narrate my dream to you and hopefully meet you.”

He also appealed to the Nigerian public not to use his video as a means to defame the Ooni, emphasizing that his intentions were to seek an audience with the monarch, not to create controversy or dishonour.

The palace has reiterated its commitment to preserving the cultural heritage of the Yoruba people and stressed that it would not tolerate attempts to undermine or tarnish its legacy through deceptive means.

The incident underscores the challenges faced by prominent public figures in managing false claims and protecting their reputations amidst the vast reach of social media.