The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Wednesday, resumed the provision of foreign exchange for banks to allow Small and Medium Enterprises SME to make essential imports
and to enable Bureau De Change operators BDC to buy and sell foreign currency.
The Apex Bank resumption gives room for parents to pay children school fees.
Based on the decision, the Central Bank will provide over US$100 million to banks.
This was contained in a statement by the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, who noting that the apex bank ‘s decision also follows a decline in the value of the naira with the currency going for above 460 per dollar on the parallel market.
“In view of the gradual easing of the COVID-19 lockdown both globally and in Nigeria, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has resumed provision of foreign exchange to all commercial banks for onward sales to parents wishing to pay school fees and SMEs wishing to make essential imports needed to revamp economic activities across the country,” the statement read in part.
The CBN said it has also “made complete arrangements to resume foreign exchange sales to the BDC segment of the market for business travels, personal travels, and other designated retail uses, as soon as international flights resume”.
The country’s top bank, however, stressed that there is no need for panic or a resort to patronising illegitimate sources of foreign exchange as it is meeting dollar needs by end-users.
“With these actions, the CBN wishes to reiterate that it is adequately meeting the needs of all legitimate users, and our continued capacity to do so should not be in doubt,” the statement said.
“There is, therefore, no need for panic by an end-user that could necessitate recourse to illegitimate sources and spike in foreign exchange rates.”
“To complement the measures in place, the bank plans to go after speculators and launch a crackdown on illegal activities in the foreign exchange market.
“Given this, the Bank has ramped up its surveillance of the foreign exchange markets for speculators, smugglers, and other illegal users, and will take decisive actions against anyone/institutions involved in such nefarious activities,” the CBN added.
