With Emefiele in DSS custody, AbokiFX resumes posting forex rates

 

The platform is now posting parallel market rates the naira is exchanging for dollars, pounds and Euros.

AbokiFX, an online platform which publishes daily foreign exchange rates in the parallel market, has resumed operations almost two years after hitting pause due to a public blowout with Godwin Emefiele, the embattled governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In September 2021, Emefiele accused the platform of sabotaging the Nigerian economy by publishing speculative black market rates to manipulate the system.

But with Emefiele now facing allegations of corruption and stuck for weeks in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS), AbokiFX resumed its operations in July 2023.

The platform is now posting parallel market rates the naira is exchanging for dollars, pounds and Euros.

AbokiFX cultivated a reputation as the most reliable unofficial platform which tracked black market forex trade when Nigeria operated a chaotic multiple forex markets system.

Following his May 29 inauguration, President Bola Tinubu unified the markets in June shortly after he suspended Emefiele over unclear corruption allegations.

The official is yet to be charged to court and has made attempts to regain his freedom while investigations continue.

Why Emefiele fought AbokiFX

Godwin Emefiele cut a controversial figure during much of his reign as CBN governor, capped by an ill-conceived, unsuccessful attempt to participate in the 2023 presidential election [TheCable]

In his public spat with AbokiFX, Emefiele challenged the founder, Oniwinde Adedotun, to show up at his office to fight him. He accused Adedotun of dodging numerous attempts to engage him for an understanding of AbokiFX's model.

He also accused the founder of being an illegal forex dealer who sold tens of millions of naira in forex to numerous Nigerian companies in contravention of forex laws, while also directly benefitting from the daily rates advertised by AbokiFX.

"It is an economic sabotage and we'll pursue him wherever he is. We will report him to international security agencies.

"We'll track him, Mr Oniwinde, we'll find you, because we cannot allow you to continue to conduct an illegal activity that kills our economy," he said at a press conference.

AbokiFX promptly suspended posting rates after Emefiele said directives had been been issued to go after the website.

The suspension of the operation didn't improve the black market exchange rate of the naira as many supporters of the CBN's action believed at the time.

Before his suspension, Emefiele was the top official of the CBN for nine years following his appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.

The 61-year-old was the poster face for some of the most controversial monetary policies of the subsequent Muhammadu Buhari administration and was dogged in defending them.