The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Monday explained how the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the recent devaluation of Naira against the United States Dollar.
The Deputy Governor of CBN, Corporate Services, Edward Adamu, who addressed members of the House of Representatives Committee on Finance during an interactive session on 2022-2024 MTEF/FSP organised by the House in Abuja, said the pandemic was responsible for the devaluation of the Nigerian currency and the indirect shortage of foreign exchange supply.
Adamu stressed that the COVID-19 had devastating effects on the nation’s economy.
He said: “There are three major ways that we get forex. These are proceeds from the sale of crude oil, foreign portfolio inflows, and remittances.
“Crude oil sale has not been as high as we all want it to be and obviously in the aftermath of COVID-19, the global economy was grounded to a halt and the use of crude oil also was reduced.
“Sometimes in April last year, we had crude oil selling at negative, which means that people were being paid to store what they bought. Therefore, the avenue for forex inflows was significantly reduced.”
