CBN bans forex Importation in Nigeria
Lagos – The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has banned the importation of the United States Dollar, among other foreign currencies, into the country as part of its monetary policy reforms.
The bank disclosed this in a statement issued on the country's new monetary guideline.
Dr Sarah Alade, the Deputy Governor, Economic Policy at CBN, said the move was aimed at saving the local currency and the economy from “external threats and dominance.”
“In its determination to save the Naira and the Nigerian economy from external threats and dominance, the CBN has banned the importation of all foreign currencies, except with the approval of the CBN,” she stated.
The latest move is sequel to the bank’s withdrawal of the operating licences of 20 Bureaux de Change
(BDC) found to have purchased and sold huge sums of United States Dollars with no documentation to show details of the transactions.
Alade said the bank was worried about the existence of strong foreign exchange demand pressures from domestic sources, which were not necessarily linked to increase in the import of goods and services.
She said the management of the CBN also observed the surge in dollar cash importation by Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and the huge cash sale of the dollar to the BDCs by the DMBs.
Alade said if the trend was not contained, it could pose “grave threats” to the value of the Naira as well as the Nigerian economy, which she said had gradually become “dollarised.”
CBN earlier this week directed all banks in the country to pay all foreign exchange transfers such a MoneyGram, AfriCash and Western Union in the local currency.
– CAJ News
