According to Mohammed Bello, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Deputy Governor of Corporate Services, almost $2.4 billion of the $7 billion estimated backlog of FX demands were fraudulent.
He said this on Monday during the Nigerian Bar Association’s 2024 Law Week event at the Garki Branch in Abuja. Bello revealed that there were many requests to settle unpaid foreign exchange commitments as soon as she took office. He continued by saying that in order to ascertain whether the claims were legitimate or not, a thorough audit of the received claims was required.
He said, “Following the completion of the audit, we discovered that about $2.4bn out of the claimed backlog of $7bn were fictitious. The bank thus took steps to clear the authentic forex backlog that has aided the stabilisation of the naira.
“It is imperative to note further that before this settlement, major foreign airlines operating in the country blocked their low inventory seats due to their inability to repatriate trapped FX inflow.
“It is gratifying to add that the clearing of FX backlog for airlines led to the release of cheaper seats to Nigerians, thereby ameliorating the cost of airfares and reducing the demand for FX and as a consequence, the pressure on the naira.”
He added that “the resultant effects of some of these measures are that, this month saw the naira emerge as the best-performing currency globally, which was supported by the bullish sentiments of leading international investment institutions, and the FX market experiencing robust activities with turnover reaching levels not attained in over seven years”.
He pointed out that in an effort to combat the nation’s growing inflation rate, contractionary policies and measures were implemented to decrease the amount of currency in circulation.
He said that in order to maintain order in that area, new regulations on bureau de change and the cancellation of licenses for more than 4,000 BDCs, among other things, were established.
Speaking at the event, Alhaji Umar Ganduje, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, praised President Bola Tinubu’s government and the governing party for their correct national reform initiatives.
The party, according to the former governor of Kano State, is already making enormous progress toward enacting the necessary changes, particularly in the areas of the economy, security, and policy, which have the potential to reverse the fortune of the country.
He said, “The APC, of course, is making a difference and if you look at the steps taken by Mr President so far, especially about the economy, where he is reforming the Central Bank of Nigeria and also in terms of curtailing all forms of insecurity in the country. The President is also keen on building a strong institution. So, APC is on course as far as reforming the system.”
The Branch Chairman of NBA, Obioma Ezenwobodo, said the path and record of the branch had been one of fulfilling accomplishments and an undying passion to make a difference and positively impact members of the branch and society.
