The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Monday, assured that it has no plans to convert the foreign exchange in domiciliary accounts of customers into naira in order to check the purported shortage of availability of the United States dollars.
The assurance followed Monday’s commencement of the CBN directive that Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) should sell foreign exchange to customers for invisibles such as basic travel allowance, PTA, medical and tuition, etc.
Speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Monday, the CBN’s Acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, disclosed that the apex bank never planned to tamper with the foreign exchange deposits in the accounts of customers.
Those making such allegations, he stressed, are criminal speculators whose intention was to create panic in the foreign exchange market, and that at no time did the CBN ever suggest or imply that it would tinker with the foreign exchange deposits of customers.
He, therefore, urged operators of domiciliary accounts and other members of the banking public to go about their legitimate foreign exchange transactions and disregard fictitious stories aimed at pitching them against the Bank and triggering chaos in the system.
Nwanisiobi recalled the assurance by the apex bank to monitor deposit money banks and ensure they meet the legitimate FX demands of customers.
Continuing, he said the CBN had put in place a monitoring mechanism to guarantee the seamless sale of foreign exchange to customers who supported their requests with relevant documentation.
He said the CBN had also extracted the commitment of the banks, through their Chief Executive Officers, that customers with legitimate requests will not be turned back.
Recall that the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele at his post-Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting briefing on Tuesday, July 27, 2021, disclosed that the CBN would stop the weekly sale of foreign exchange to Bueaux de Change (BDCs) and that deposit money banks would henceforth sell to customers to meet their foreign exchange needs.
Sequel to the instruction, Banks Chief Executives met at the weekend and affirmed their readiness to meet the foreign exchange demands from genuine FX end-users as directed by the apex bank.
