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Claim: President Tinubu stated that the dollar was N1,900 when he assumed office in May 2023, and it is currently between N1,450 and N1,350.
Verdict: False. When Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, the naira was officially trading at about N460 to the dollar and N760–N770 in the parallel market, not N1,900 as he claimed.
Full Text
Nigeria’s economy has faced severe challenges due to the naira’s decline against the dollar, which has impacted households and businesses alike.
The World Bank estimates that about 30.9 per cent of Nigerians live in extreme poverty, with rural areas worst hit at 75.5 per cent.
In July 2025, inflation stood at 21.88 per cent, putting additional pressure on Nigerians already struggling with high living costs.
Amid this backdrop, a viral video on Instagram showed Nigeria’s President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, addressing the nation on Tuesday, September 2, 2025, during an event hosted by the Buhari Organisation, initially broadcast on ARISE TV.
In the video, he claimed that when he assumed office in May 2023, the dollar was already trading at N1,900 but had since stabilised to between N1350 and N1450.
He said, “The economy is stabilised. Nobody is trading a piece of paper for an exchange rate anymore. When I took over, it was N1,900 to a dollar. It’s N1,450, N1,350, but it has been stabilising there. You do not have to know Cardoso before you get your foreign exchange.”
As of Sept. 3, 2023, the claim had attracted 21,200 likes, 5,154 comments, 667 shares, and 140 reposts.
The comment section was filled with mixed reactions. Some users disbelieved the president’s utterances, while some hailed him.
“Where is he getting his data from? Since when was it N1,900 when you resumed? Buhari left it at N750. Oga, take it easy,” Itisugochukwu countered.
“God bless you, Daddy Tinubu. I knew you would make Nigeria proud,” Jectimi_comedy commended.
The differing reactions and the claim’s potential to mislead Nigerians’ understanding of the country’s economic history prompted DUBAWA to conduct the fact check.
Verification
Tinubu succeeded the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration in May 2023 after winning the 2023 presidential election. DUBAWA reviewed historical foreign exchange data from reputable sources and reports on periods preceding his office assumption.
As of May 29, 2023, data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN, page 2) and historical currency trackers such as ValutaFX, CEIC, and ExchangeRates, showed that the official exchange rate of the US dollar was approximately N460.8 per dollar. Variants in the trading window placed it between N460.8 and N464.5.
Checks on the Oanda currency converter also confirmed that one dollar was N459.603 on the same day.
Similarly, reports from major Nigerian financial news platforms indicate that while the official rate was around N460, the parallel market (black market rate) traded at about N760 to N770 per dollar on the same day.
At no point in May 2023 did the official or unofficial rate approach N1,900 per dollar.
The naira only crossed the N1,000 mark in April 2024, several months after Tinubu introduced reforms in June 2023, including the unification of multiple exchange rate windows.
These reforms gradually depreciated the naira throughout late 2023 and into 2024.
The highest recorded exchange rate in recent data occurred in early May 2025, with the dollar reaching approximately N1,607.05 per dollar.
As of August 2025, the official FX (NFEM) rate was approximately N1,531.57 per USD, with the parallel market at N1,542 per USD.
Live data from currency trackers, such as the currency rate and currency live and placed the naira within the N1,530 to N1,535 range
Conclusion
The claim that the dollar was N1,900 when Tinubu came into power in May 2023 is false. Verified data indicate that the official exchange rate was approximately N460, while the black market rate was around N760–N770 at the time. The naira never traded at N1,900 to the dollar at any point before May 2023.
