Naira rated worst performing currency in 2024
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The naira has emerged as the worst-performing currency in the world in the first half of 2024.
According to a report by Bloomberg on Friday, devaluation, insufficient dollar liquidity, and market volatility have hindered efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to strengthen the currency.
Besides the naira, Egypt’s pound and Ghana’s cedi were the world’s other worst performers in the first six months of the year.
Tracking data from FMDQ, Bloomberg said that the naira weakened for a ninth straight day to 1,510 per dollar by the close on Thursday.
“The losing streak is the longest since July 2017 and takes the decline since the start of the year to 40 per cent.
“The naira’s performance is the worst among global currencies tracked by Bloomberg beside that of the pound in Lebanon, which is undergoing an economic crisis and witnessing dollarisation,” the report noted.
Providing an update on the currency, the Head of Africa Strategy at Standard Chartered Bank Plc, Samir Gadio, in a mail said, “While the naira is undervalued and has seen significant adjustment. The supply of dollars needs to improve for the currency to be supported.
Biden vows to defeat Trump
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President Joe Biden said on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival, Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would consider dropping out of the race.
Biden was speaking after a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats.
“I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious,” an ebullient Biden said at a rally one day after the head-to-head showdown with his Republican rival – a showdown widely viewed as a defeat for the 81-year-old president.
“I don’t walk as easy as I used to; I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to; I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said, as the crowd chanted “Four more years.”
“I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job. The stakes are too high,” Biden said.
Biden’s verbal mumbles and occasionally meandering responses in the debate heightened voter concerns that he might not be fit to serve another four-year term.
Kidnapping spree: Police upgrade tracking system as 1,290 abducted in 2024
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To curb the surge in kidnappings across the country, the Nigeria Police Force has procured advanced tactical equipment to enhance its tracking capabilities.
This is as new data revealed that no fewer than 1,290 people may have been kidnapped in the country since the beginning of the year.
The figure, according to an investigation by Saturday PUNCH, further confirms the high rate of abductions for ransom in Nigeria.
The figure was derived from an analysis of Nextier’s Nigeria Violent Conflict Database reports, published between January 1 and June 22, 2024.
Nextier, an Africa-focused multi-competency public sector advisory firm, provides weekly reports in a database that collates media-reported violent conflicts across Nigeria.
Earlier this year, some civil society groups, under the aegis of the Civil Society Joint Action Group, said no fewer than 17,469 Nigerians were abducted between 2019 and 2023.
FRSC vows to withdraw licences of unruly drivers
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The Federal Road Safety Corps has said it would henceforth revoke the driver’s licences of recalcitrant drivers.
Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, made this known on Friday in Abuja while addressing newsmen on the outcome of the 2024 Eid-el Kabir Special Patrol Operations held between Friday, June 14, to Sunday, June 23.
He said that the Corps had realised more than ever before the increasing need for collective participation and collaboration of all stakeholders.
Mohammed also said the Corps leveraged this as a necessary variable tool that would help in achieving the mileage recorded within the periods under consideration.