CBN Defends its Foreign Exchange Policy, Cautions Critics

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has defended its foreign exchange policy and cautions unwarranted attack on its policies by a group of Nigerians, whose real interests, according the apex bank are anything near altruistic but rather self-serving and unpatriotic.

Isaac Okorafor Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, CBN, in statement said: “While we respect the rights of every Nigerian or stakeholder to their respective views, we find it curious that certain interests have remained persistent in their move to misinform the larger public, with the intention of discrediting genuine efforts at managing the economy, thereby creating public distrust and panic within the financial system”.
 
“Indeed, self-centered individuals, who have failed to assail our patriotic position, have resorted to the sponsorship of serial propaganda to misinform and mislead the public on the objectives of our policies.

He added that Intelligence reports at the disposal of the Bank revealed the involvement of some unpatriotic elements funding the push to have the CBN and the Federal Government reverse its FOREX policy, which is aimed at conserving foreign exchange, stimulating agriculture and manufacturing and also promoting exports.

“The present economic challenges that we face have been worsened by our past practice of frittering away huge earnings made from oil sales, over the years.

“As we have explained severally, our decisions on FOREX management are prompted by the challenge posed by the level of depletion of the country’s reserves, arising from issues such as a drastic reduction in oil earnings, speculative attacks and round tripping.” 

He noted that pressures on the country’s foreign reserves have persisted due to a huge fall in the monthly foreign earnings, which fell from over US $3.2 billion sometime in 2013 to below $500 million per month sometime in 2016, when the demand for the US dollar, particularly by importers, continued to rise considerably.

“In spite of the challenges and the basic economic fact that countries earn dollars from international trade, we have ensured we meet the genuine demand of importers to pay for eligible imports and other transactions within available resources.

“Furthermore, the Bank has continued to ensure that there is liquidity and transparency in the FOREX market.”