Naira Gains Massively A Day After President Tinubu’s Supreme Court Victory

Naira has gained massively a day after President Tinubu’s Supreme Court victory.

Newsone reports that the dollar to naira exchange rate in Nigeria today experienced a positive move in both the official and parallel markets a day after the Supreme Court of Nigeria affirmed Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election in the West African country.

According to information sourced from traders in the parallel market in Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial city, the exchange rate between the Nigerian naira and the United States dollar appreciated to N1,255 to the dollar on Friday morning, October 27, 2023, after it sold N1,300 before the Supreme Court judgment on Thursday, recording a gain of N45 within 24 hours.

This is indicative of a concerning trend in Nigeria’s unofficial foreign exchange market. On the official NAFEX market, where the exchange rate is officially determined, the naira-to-dollar rate moved from N837.49 to N802.7 just a day earlier.

On the black market, the local currency opened at N1,255.00 per $1 at the parallel market otherwise known as the black market today Friday, 27 October 2023, in Lagos Nigeria, after it closed at N1,300.00 per $1 on Thursday, 26 October 2023.

Newsone Nigeria reports that in the black market, the players buy a dollar for N1,250 and sell for N1,255 on Friday morning, 27 October 2023, after they purchased N1,290 and sold for N1,300 on Thursday, 26 October 2023 before the Supreme Court judgment affirming President Tinubu’s election.

The Naira and The Supreme Court Ruling:

On Thursday, October 26, 2023, the Supreme Court rejected an application from Atiku Abubakar and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to submit new evidence concerning President Bola Tinubu’s diploma from Chicago State University (CSU).

• Justice Inyang Okoro, who delivered the verdict, stated that the time for introducing fresh evidence at the Court of Appeal had passed, making it ineligible for consideration at the Supreme Court level.
• The apex court also dismissed an appeal filed by Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party.
• The seven-man panel, led by Justice Inyang Okoro, ruled that the appeal lacked sufficient merit and was consequently dismissed. Obi had sought to reverse the Presidential Election Tribunal Court’s (PEPT) September 6th decision, which upheld President Tinubu’s win.

What this means: The Supreme Court’s ruling did not seem to buoy either the capital or forex markets.

• Newsone Nigeria suggests that this could be because market participants had already priced in a legal victory for President Tinubu, rendering the court’s decision relatively inconsequential in terms of market impact.
• There is also a possibility that the market would have responded more dramatically—either positively or negatively—had the Supreme Court’s ruling been different.
• With the legal challenges now behind him, most analysts anticipate that President Tinubu and his administration will shift their full attention to economic recovery and stability which is expected to see the Nigerian currency strengthen against the greenback.