By Adeyemi David
The Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has projected that the naira could strengthen to N1,100 per dollar in 2026, citing the effects of ongoing economic reforms and import substitution policies.
Dangote made the remarks on Tuesday during the launch of the National Industrial Policy 2025 by the federal government. He noted that recent measures are beginning to yield results, boosting confidence among domestic manufacturers.
The naira has firmed in recent weeks, closing at N1,335.95 per dollar at the official market and about N1,380 per dollar on the parallel market on Tuesday.
Dangote emphasized that curbing imports and expanding local production could push the currency to as strong as N1,100 per dollar this year.
He, however, cautioned that authorities may be hesitant to allow excessive appreciation, given revenue considerations, describing the situation as a “catch-22.”
While a stronger naira would lower import costs, Nigeria’s reliance on imports underscores the need to deepen domestic manufacturing capacity.
Dangote remarked: “Today, the dollar is N1,340. Mr Vice-President, I can assure you that, based on my knowledge, blocking all this importation and currency this year will be as low as N1,100, if we are lucky.
The only thing is for maybe the government to stop the naira from getting stronger so that they will keep collecting more naira.”
