The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday came out to strongly condemn the dollarization of the nation’s economy. It vowed to go after perpetrators of the act.
While stressing that the legal currency for doing business in Nigeria remained the naira, he asserted that it is illegal for anyone to transact business in dollars in the country. He stated this while reading a communiqué at the end of a two-day monetary policy committee, MPC, attended by 11 out of the 12 members.
The CBN boss said, “We are looking for people who are making demands for foreign currency as payment for services, landlords who are asking for rents in dollars, schools that are asking for school fees in dollars, or those transacting business in dollars. It is illegal in Nigeria and we will like to advise those who are involved in these practices to desist from them because the CBN will in due course come after them”.
As regards the current value of the naira, Emefiele was optimistic that the currency will pick up after the elections, adding that at an average of N198 to one dollar, the currency was sufficiently priced given the pressure that has been seen in the market due to the drop in crude prices.
“I am very optimistic that foreign and domestic investors are looking at the currency and are optimistic that after the elections confidence will improve because elections will come and go but Nigeria will remain and business will resume and the economy will remain resilience and be on the upward direction,” he stated.
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