{"id":17944,"date":"2024-03-28T07:35:43","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T06:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/?p=17944"},"modified":"2024-03-28T07:35:46","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T06:35:46","slug":"twitter-user-falsely-claims-dollar-sold-at-n1000-in-abuja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/twitter-user-falsely-claims-dollar-sold-at-n1000-in-abuja\/","title":{"rendered":"Twitter user falsely claims dollar sold at N1000 in Abuja<\/strong>"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Claim<\/strong>: A Twitter user claimed that Bureau De Change entrepreneurs are selling a dollar for N1,000 at Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Verdict: FALSE<\/strong>. Our investigation revealed that the exchange rate is averagely higher than the claimed amount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full Text<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Nigerians have experienced severe economic crises due to the different fiscal policies implemented since Bola Tinubu assumed office as Nigeria’s president. However, the administration’s decision to float the exchange rate led by the Central Bank governor, Yemi Cardoso, contributed to the unstable economy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of Feb. 21, 2024, the dollar soared<\/a> as high as N1,820. This increased the inflation rate in the country and caused untold hardship<\/a> for the citizens who suffered the brunt of a plummeting economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the series of drama<\/a> that ensued between the Federal government and Binance, a cryptocurrency exchange platform, the Naira has gained a steady increase against the dollar. But when an X user, Pastor Okezie Atani (@ONsogbu), posted<\/a> that the dollar is currently being sold for N1,000 at Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja, Nigerians were thrown into a frenzy. He attributed the claim to one Duchess M. Abboud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA traced the account quoted and found<\/a> the claim. She wrote \u201cThis morning at Zone 4 Abuja, along the Sheraton Hotel, the dollar is selling at N1,000\/$. Abdulsalam BDC is selling N900 if buying over $5000. There’s a mad rush to dispose of dollars at Zone 4. The dollar in the parallel market is presently selling at a lower price than the official market.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As of March 27, 2024, the post has gained more than 271,500 views, 715 reactions, 178 comments, 377 retweets and 46 bookmarks. It has also gone viral on Facebook as seen here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The virality of the claim and the oddity prompted DUBAWA to verify the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Verification<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA earlier found that the official exchange rate<\/a> is N1,416 per dollar, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria as of March 27, 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot of official dollar-naira rate as of March 27, 2024.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We conducted an on-site investigation to verify the claim. At the Bureau De Change Hub situated in Wuse Zone 4, Abuja, multiple \u2018traders\u2019 affirmed that there is no BDC establishment named \u201cAbdulsalam BDC\u201d in that vicinity. However, several traders go by the name \u201cAbdulsalam.\u201d   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Subsequently, we set out to locate \u201c1 In-Town,\u201d the BDC office depicted in the image accompanying the claim. Upon arrival, we inquired about Abdulsalam BDC. In response, Musa Danyaro, the head of operations at 1 In-Town, stated that neither he nor his staff members go by such a name.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
\u00a0A man coming out of the 1 In-Town BDC office.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

We then engaged in negotiations, seeking information on their exchange rates. Mr Danyaro mentioned that they were not currently selling dollars due to the fluctuating rates. Despite our attempts to persuade him, he reiterated that the highest rate they could offer for buying was N1,290 and N1,350 if he would sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without asking, Mr Danyaro mentioned that posts were circulating on social media that the dollar was now being sold at N1,000. He described this as propaganda and affirmed that such a situation never occurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re on social media, it\u2019s trending already that a dollar is selling for one thousand naira. I saw the story. It is not true. It is propaganda,\u201d he explained. \u201cIf the government’s official rate is [N1,300+], how much more the BDC? They just want people like you to sell so that the dollar can come down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Danyaro expressed satisfaction with the recent decline in the value of the Dollar over the past two weeks. He elaborated that in December, the dollar was sold at approximately one thousand Naira. However, by February, the rate had surged to as high as N1,800 making life difficult for an average Nigerian.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

DUBAWA team approached seven other BDC traders, including those operating unofficially. All of them dismissed the notion that dollars were being sold at N1,000. While most were only willing to sell at a minimum of N1,350, the average trader would not pay more than N1,300 when buying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking to DUBAWA, Amoni Jigwa, a trader at Wireless Resources BDC LTD, said he could not sell for lower than N1,340. He maintained that his price was the cheapest, urging our researcher to compare it with other sellers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou no fit see am for any place for N1,000 walahi. Me I go sell am for N1,340 gaskia,\u201d he persuaded our researcher.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ahmed Ibrahim, an unofficial trader, refuted the claim that dollars recently sold at N1,000. When questioned about the last time they sold at a thousand Naira, he responded:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSee, the last time I sell dollar one thousand naira na last year December. Today, others sell N1,350. If you get Naira plenty, I sell am N1,250.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maintaining a similar position, Mai Abdulrasheed, Head at Majia BDC debunked the claim of selling at N1,000. Nevertheless, he acknowledged the rapid decline in the dollar rate over the past few days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have not sold at N1,000 this period. Maybe if you come tomorrow, the dollar might become cheaper,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As of March 27, 2024, a dollar is sold at N1,350 by the Bureau de Change sellers at Wuse Zone 4 in Abuja. While many sellers in the area bear Abdulsalam, the particular enterprise mentioned in the claim, \u2018Abdulsalam BDC,\u2019 does not exist. Therefore, the claim is false.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As of Feb. 21, 2024, the dollar soared as high as N1,820. This increased the inflation rate in the country and caused untold hardship for the citizens who suffered the brunt of a plummeting economy.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17945,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"hannibal_claim_source":"","hannibal_source_label":"","hannibal_card_color":"blue","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[120,1571,3815],"tags":[4097,3724,4095,204,4096,486,60],"verdict":[],"ppma_author":[3793,3009,3263],"class_list":["post-17944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-fact-check","category-homepage","tag-dollar-naira-rates","tag-dollar-notes","tag-exchange","tag-fake-news","tag-foreign-exchange","tag-misinformation","tag-nigeria"],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8R6dE-4Fq","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"authors":[{"term_id":3793,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"lademi-aborisade","display_name":"Lademi Aborisade","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""},{"term_id":3009,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"sunday-awosoro","display_name":"Sunday Awosoro","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""},{"term_id":3263,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"phillip-anjorin","display_name":"Phillip Anjorin","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/98daaf5d9d7a2c5cd4ce1c417532d1cfa2ca293247710cf46a925146cc2e90e1?s=96&r=g","author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"","first_name":"","job_title":"","description":""}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/pasted-image-0-3.png?fit=1200%2C676&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17944"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17944\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17948,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17944\/revisions\/17948"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17945"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17944"},{"taxonomy":"verdict","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/verdict?post=17944"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dubawa.org\/dir\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=17944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}