Naira crashes, Nigerian bond market closed

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — Nigeria's naira currency crashed and the fixed income and bond markets closed on news that President Goodluck Jonathan has suspended the Central Bank governor who disclosed billions of petrodollars are missing from the coffers of Africa's biggest oil producer.

Financial analysts say the naira plummeted from 163 to 169 to the U.S. dollar when Jonathan's statement became public. The Central Bank's fixed income and bond market stopped trading. The stock exchange remained open.

Analyst Bismarck Rewane warned of "a very difficult time" for the naira and Nigerian financial market in the near-term. He said the suspension from a position held in high reverence increases uncertainty as Nigeria prepares for a presidential election next year.

Jonathan Thursday accused Central Bank governor Lamido Sanusi of "financial recklessness."