$2.4 billion of a fictitious $7 billion forex allegation - CBN

Approximately $2.4 billion of the purported backlog of $7 billion in forex claims were allegedly fictitious, according to Mohammed Bello, the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Corporate Services division.

Speaking on Monday during the Nigerian Bar Association’s 2024 Law Week event, which took place at the NBA National Secretariat in Abuja, Bello revealed that there had been multiple requests for the settlement of unpaid foreign exchange obligations since he took office.

He continued by saying that in order to ascertain if the claims were genuine or not, they required a thorough examination of the information submitted.

He said, “Following the completion of the audit, we discovered that about $2.4 billion out of the claimed backlog of $7 billion 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 the FX backlog to airlines had 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 of 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.”

Bello pointed out that in an effort to combat the nation’s rising inflation rate, contractionary policies and procedures were implemented to decrease the amount of cash in circulation.

He said that in order to maintain peace in that area, new guidelines on Bureau de Change were issued and over 4,000 BDCs’ licenses were revoked, among other measures.

Speaking at the event, the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, Abdullahi Ganduje praised the party and President Bola Tinubu’s administration for moving the country in the right direction toward transformation.

In his welcome speech, the branch chairman, Obioma Ezenwobodo, stated that the branch’s history has been marked by rewarding successes and an unwavering desire to change the world and have a beneficial influence on both society and its members.