President of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has projected that the Nigerian naira could appreciate to N1,100 against the United States dollar before the end of 2026.
Dangote made the projection on Tuesday while speaking at the launch of the Nigeria Industrial Policy in Abuja. He expressed optimism that ongoing economic reforms under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu would continue to yield positive results for the country.
According to him, manufacturers are already witnessing improvements in the business environment and are pleased with the direction of government policies.
“I believe with the policies that have been implemented, people are beginning to see results, and manufacturers are very, very happy,” he said.
Dangote noted that with further measures to curb importation and strengthen local production, the naira could gain more value in the coming months.
“Today, the dollar is about N1,340. Mr. Vice-President, I can assure you that, with what I know, by blocking all this importation, the currency this year will be as low as N1,100 if we are lucky,” he added.
Similarly, Chairman of First HoldCo, Femi Otedola, recently predicted that the naira could trade at N1,000 per dollar before year-end, attributing his optimism to increased production capacity at the Dangote Refinery.
At the close of trading on Tuesday, the naira appreciated to N1,335.96 per dollar at the official foreign exchange market and N1,390 per dollar at the parallel market.
