Chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has estimated that the naira could strengthen to N1,100 per dollar in 2026, citing the impact of ongoing economic reforms and import substitution.
Dangote spoke at the launch of the National Industrial Policy 2025 by the federal government on Tuesday.
The naira has strengthened in recent weeks, closing at N1,335.95/$ in the official market and about N1,380/$ in the parallel market on Tuesday.
He said that the results of the existing policies are beginning to emerge, which is increasing confidence among manufacturers.
According to him, curbing imports and increasing domestic production could strengthen the currency to N1,100/$ this year. However, he said officials may be wary of excessive praise given revenue considerations.
He said: “Today, the dollar is N1,340. Mr Vice President, I can assure you that, based on my information, if we are lucky, blocking all this importation and currency this year will go as low as N1,100.
“Maybe the only thing for the government to do is to stop the naira from strengthening so that they can keep collecting more naira.”
Dangote described the situation as a “Catch-22”, warning that while a stronger naira would reduce import costs, Nigeria's import dependence highlights the need to deepen local manufacturing capacity.
