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Naira Declines Amid USD Pressure on February 19, 2026

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Naira

Naira exchange rate falls against US Dollar as official and parallel market gaps persist, highlighting tensions in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market

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Fresh trading data shows the Naira experienced a modest decline against the United States Dollar on Thursday, February 19, 2026, signalling continued tension in Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.

Also read: Naira Strengthens Amid Rising Liquidity and Inflows

Analysts are closely monitoring the narrowing gap between official and parallel rates amid liquidity concerns affecting importers and manufacturers.

In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market, the Naira opened at ₦1,346.40 per Dollar, slightly down from the previous day’s closing average.

Trading activity initially began at ₦1,340.00 before settling into the current range, reflecting persistent demand for the greenback.

Strong supply from institutional investors has helped prevent sharp swings, while the Central Bank of Nigeria maintains its policy corridor of ₦1,340–₦1,350 to preserve predictability for international transactions.

Meanwhile, activity in the parallel market remains robust, with the Dollar trading at a buying rate of ₦1,490 and a selling rate between ₦1,505 and ₦1,515 in major hubs such as Lagos and Abuja.

Stability in this market reflects a temporary equilibrium in retail demand for personal travel allowances and overseas tuition payments.

Despite recent resilience, the gap of over ₦150 between official and unofficial rates continues to challenge government efforts to unify exchange rates fully.

The Naira’s performance is being influenced by global oil price movements and domestic fiscal measures aimed at tightening liquidity.

Yesterday, the Naira appreciated slightly to ₦1,380 per Dollar in the parallel market from ₦1,385, even as it depreciated to ₦1,340 per Dollar in the official market.

According to Central Bank data, the indicative exchange rate rose to ₦1,340 per Dollar from ₦1,337, narrowing the margin between parallel and official rates to ₦40 per Dollar from ₦48 previously.

Also read: Dangote Predicts Naira Could Strengthen to N1,100

Analysts expect the official rate to hold steady barring major policy announcements or sudden shifts in foreign reserves, with the short-term trajectory hinging on end-of-week trading figures.

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Cement costs more in Nigeria than Kenya, Togo, FCCPC finds

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FCCPC

Cement price manipulation is under investigation by the FCCPC after a three-month study found Nigerian prices were high despite surplus capacity

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Heirs Life Names Pastor Jerry Eze Independent Non-Executive Director

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Heirs

Heirs Life appoints Jerry Eze as an Independent Non-Executive Director to strengthen financial inclusion, consumer trust and insurance adoption (more…)

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Shoreline Group secures US$200 million Afreximbank Facility

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Shoreline Group today announced that African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has approved a US$200 million facility in favour of Shoreline Power Company Limited and co-borrowers including Arkad S.p.A., Shoreline’s majority-owned engineering and construction platform.
Approved in June 2026, the facility was arranged and provided by Afreximbank as sole mandated lead arranger and lender. It provides bonding and working-capital capacity for Arkad’s delivery of the Hassi Bir Rekaiz project and supports Shoreline and its affiliates in developing further pipeline and infrastructure
projects in Nigeria and other permitted jurisdictions.
“This is a defining transaction for Shoreline and Arkad. We built Arkad as an African- sponsored engineering platform capable of competing at the highest level, and it is now delivering against a billion-dollar energy contract. Afreximbank’s US$200 million commitment gives the platform the financial strength to match its engineering capability and pursue further major infrastructure mandates. It demonstrates that African enterprises can assemble the capital, capability and partnerships required to compete for infrastructure at international scale.”
Hassi Bir Rekaiz Phase 2a Arkad holds 44 per cent of the approximately US$1 billion EPCCS-1 contract awarded by Groupement
Hassi Bir Rekaiz (GHBR) to an unincorporated consortium led by Egypt’s Petrojet, which holds 56 percent. EPCCS-1 covers engineering, procurement, construction, commissioning and start-up for the Phase 2a central processing facility and related infrastructure at the Hassi Bir Rekaiz field in Algeria’s Berkine
Basin.
GHBR is the joint operating entity for the licence, held by Sonatrach with 51 per cent and Thailand’s PTTEP with 49 per cent. The project includes a new crude oil processing facility with capacity of 31,500 barrels per day, facilities for associated gas and produced-water treatment, approximately 217 kilometres
of pipelines and the brownfield modifications required to integrate existing Phase 1 infrastructure.
The facilities are designed to support later expansion to 63,000 barrels per day under Phase 2b.
“This financing addresses the instruments that determine whether an EPC contractor can execute at scale: performance guarantees, advance payment guarantees and working capital through the project cycle. Hassi Bir Rekaiz is a demanding scope, combining a new central processing facility, associated treatment systems, pipelines and brownfield integration. With Petrojet, and with the support of Shoreline and Afreximbank, Arkad is focused on disciplined delivery against the project’s safety, quality and schedule requirements.”
The transaction was structured under Afreximbank’s Engineering, Procurement and Construction Initiative, which supports African engineering and construction firms with the financial instruments required to compete for and execute large infrastructure contracts. Afreximbank also supported the Arkad-Petrojet partnership through its EPC twinning work at the Intra-African Trade Fair held in Algiers
in 2025.
According to Afreximbank, the transaction is its first support for a Sub-Saharan African contractor undertaking a major infrastructure project in North Africa. For Shoreline, it demonstrates a practical model for combining African ownership and capital with established international engineering andindustrial capability.

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