Nigeria’s currency, the naira, recorded its strongest performance of 2025 on Thursday, closing at N1,455.23 per dollar at the official foreign exchange (FX) market. This marks a 1.36 percent appreciation from the N1,475.34/$ traded on September 30, and the first return to the N1,400 region since May 2024. The parallel market mirrored the positive trend, with the naira rising to N1,480 per dollar compared to N1,485/$ earlier in the week.
The rally comes on the back of reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which introduced the electronic foreign exchange matching system (EFEMS) in December 2024 to increase transparency and liquidity in the FX space. At the time of the policy shift, the naira had slumped to N1,660/$, but steady inflows from remittances, foreign investments, and strategic interventions have helped strengthen the local currency. The reduced gap between official and parallel rates has also boosted investor confidence and signaled improved market stability.
In his Independence Day address on October 1, President Bola Tinubu hailed the development as proof of Nigeria’s economic resilience, affirming that the turbulence of 2023 and 2024 was firmly behind the nation. Industry leaders, including BUA Group’s Abdul Samad Rabiu, remain optimistic, projecting the naira could appreciate further toward N1,300/$ before year-end if reforms stay consistent.
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