By Modupe Gbadeyanka
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has expressed its total displeasure on a report by a media outfit on Monday, claiming officials of the bank were collaborating with some unscrupulous elements to commit infractions in the nation’s foreign exchange market.
The newspaper had claimed that the loophole created by the multiple exchange rate system in the country was making some people richer in a fraudulent manner.
The central bank has an official exchange rate of N306 to a Dollar, while at the other market segments, the Dollar is sold from N360 to N365.
It was alleged that some persons with connections with the CBN get the foreign currency at the official rate to resell at a higher rate.
Several groups, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had advised the central bank to collapse the different exchange rates into one, but the apex bank has remained adamant.
Reacting to the Monday’s reporting by Business Day, the CBN challenged the paper to mention those involved in the alleged scam.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been alerted on the front page headline story in the BusinessDay newspaper on Monday, February 4, 2019 titled: ‘Exposed: The sleazy face of N306/$, inside Nigeria’s racket where faceless agents pocket over N32bn annually’.
“The management of CBN wishes to react to the report wherein BusinessDay newspaper alleges that faceless agents in Nigeria are exploiting the country’s multiple exchange rates to devastating effects and allegedly with the backing of regulators.
“CBN wishes to state unequivocally that this report is unfounded and untrue and challenges BusinessDay to provide the names and also verifiable evidence of collusion between these faceless agents and officials of CBN, who are working to perpetuate these so-called FX racket schemes.
“We would also urge the management of BusinessDay to contact the CBN prior to making such spurious allegations, as we were denied the benefit of responding to this article.
“The CBN wishes to remind BusinessDay, as most financial observers have noted, that the FX rates across various markets governed and regulated by CBN, have been converging, leaving no room for arbitrage opportunities in Nigeria’s FX market. “For avoidance of doubt, the CBN will continue to act in the best interest of Nigeria and shall ensure it remains focused on its core mandate of sustaining the stability in the FX market,” the CBN said in a statement.
