On June 1, 2023, Daily Trust newspaper with the headline 鈥淐BN Devalues Naira To 630/$1鈥. On , the news has received over 426k views at the time of writing. It has also been retweeted 493 times.
On Wait First, we divide claims into three categories. A valid claim is a fresh banana. A false claim is a burnt dodo. And a misleading claim is cold zobo.
So, how valid is this claim?
Background
According to the by Daily Trust, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) devalued the naira from 鈧461.6 to 鈧6鈥31 to the dollar. It then sold at the new rate in the 鈥淚mporters and Exporters (I&E)鈥 window on May 31.
Nigeria currently runs a multiple exchange rate system. The CBN provides its rates, and the parallel market, commonly known as the black market, provides another. The gulf between the two creates arbitrage. This is a situation where people trade in currencies by taking advantage of differing prices for the same currency.
As of May 31, the was 鈧461.26 to the dollar.
The for the same day was 鈧750 to the dollar.
Verification
Not long after the news report was released, the CBN released a screenshot describing it as 鈥渇ake news鈥.
The CBN then followed up with signed by its acting director of corporate communications, Isa AbdulMumin. It read:
鈥淭he attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a news report by Daily Trust Newspaper of June 1, 2023, titled 鈥楥BN Devalues Naira To 630/$1鈥.
We wish to state categorically that this news report, which in the imagination of the newspaper is exclusive, is replete with outright FALSEHOODS and destabilising innuendos, reflecting potentially willful ignorance of the said medium as to the workings of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market.
For the avoidance of doubt, the exchange rate at the Investors鈥 and Exporters鈥 (I&E) window traded this morning (June 1, 2023) at 鈧465/$ and has been stable around this rate for a while.
The public is hereby advised to ignore this news report by Daily Trust in its entirety, as it is speculative and calculated at causing panic in the market.
Media practitioners are advised to verify their facts from the Central Bank of Nigeria before publishing in order not to misinform the public.鈥
Verdict
The CBN has come out to state that the claim by Daily Trust is emphatically false. Therefore this news is nothing but burnt dodo.
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