Naira gains ground as Chinese accept local currency for trade

The National President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, has said that the naira’s recent strength against the dollar is linked to renewed trust in the Nigeria-China currency swap deal.

Gwadabe explained that Chinese investors and traders in Nigeria are now accepting naira for yuan through peer-to-peer (P2P) transactions instead of using the dollar.

According to him, many Chinese nationals in the mining sector already run their daily business in naira.

“The Chinese are now accepting naira for yuan through P2P transactions. If you visit a mining factory, you’ll see Chinese nationals doing business directly in naira. This isn’t something the Central Bank is pushing—it’s happening naturally,” he said.

He added that Nigerians importing from China no longer need dollars to complete their transactions.
“If a Nigerian is importing from China, all he needs now is yuan. There’s no need to go through the dollar. So why use a third currency?” he stated.

This shift follows the Nigeria-China bilateral currency swap agreement signed in December 2024, worth N3.28 trillion (15 billion yuan).

As of Tuesday, the naira continued to gain against the dollar, trading at N1,526.06 per dollar.

A presidential spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, also recently declared that the US dollar is no longer “king” over the naira.