The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has stated that private sector players are contributing to the scarcity of the dollar, which is weakening the value of naira.
After the dollar value crossed N700 in the black market, Deputy Director, Banking Services, CBN, Egboagwu Ezulu lamented how the private sector had been obtaining foreign exchange (FX) from CBN without repatriating the earnings from business transacted with the international currencies.
Ezulu argued that the failure of private sector players to repatriate their earnings had contributed to the scarcity of dollars.
He said, “We are taking FX out of this country and dumping offshore; when we were told to bring them back. If Nigerians are bringing back FX, we would not be talking about the challenges of FX. There is a challenge for individuals and businesses to do the right thing.”
“That is why the CBN introduced the RT200 to encourage you to bring back the dollar you are saying is scarce, but in the books of the banks, we see billions of dollars that have been exported out of the country, and the OPS is not bringing it back, so how do we finance FX demand?” the CBN chief queried.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that this development came barely a week after the CBN identified the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) as the major problem for the depreciation of the naira.
In a statement addressed to members of the public, the apex bank explained that NNPC and its subsidiaries have failed to remit the USD to Nigeria’s foreign reserves. Hence, the foreign exchange (FX) market is suffering from a shortage of the currency.
“Domestically, there has been zero dollar remittance to the country’s foreign reserve by the NNPC.
“As noted by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, monetary policy alone cannot bear all the burden of the expected adjustments needed to manage these difficulties. It’s our collective duty as Nigerians to shore up the value of the naira,” the regulator explained.
