For the first time in over a month, the value of the local currency has increased significantly since it crossed above N1000.

From N1,150 in the parallel market on Thursday, the dollar exchanged for N950 on Friday evening and below in the morning, gaining over N200.

Sources at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, confirmed that dollar was exchanged between N750 and N800 in the morning before appreciating to N950 in the evening.

This occurred during the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) intervention, which was said to have begun clearing a backlog of matured dollar obligations totaling over $7bn.

The beneficiaries of the CBN remittances were banks and airlines, bolstering expectations among foreign airlines operating in Nigeria.

For instance, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) carrier, Emirates, may soon resume flights to Nigeria as both countries finalise agreements which may see the Arab country lift its visa and work permit bans on Nigerians.

A bureau de change (BDC) operator at the MMIA simply identified as Mall. Ubaida said, “Dollar this evening we buy it for N900. But in the morning, we bought it for N800. It is coming down because of what the CBN did.”

However, he suggested that the CBN provide dollars directly to the BDC operators, claiming that doing so would further boost the value of the naira.