Nigerian President Bola Tinubu's lightning-fast reform push after taking office in May sparked hope that his administration would be a business-friendly antidote to mounting economic troubles facing Africa's biggest economy.
Fast forward to more than 100 days in office, and the key planks of his economic overhaul - unshackling the naira from its rigid regime, and allowing fuel prices to rise - are coming loose.
"Momentum just seems...almost in reverse," said David Omojomolo, Africa economist at research firm Capital Economics. Tinubu's decision to let the official naira rate weaken saw it briefly converge with the black market. Last week, he assured investors they could take money out, touting a "reliable, one figure exchange rate of the naira."
The central bank has also kept other restrictions that businesses say make life tough, including a ban on using central bank foreign exchange to import 43 items. Despite being Africa's largest oil exporter, Nigeria imports nearly all its fuel as it does not refine nearly enough to meet the demand of its 200 million citizens. In recent years, it has swapped crude for fuel, depriving it again of a source of U.S. dollars.
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