The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has dismissed as untrue, a newspaper publication alleging sleaze in its foreign exchange transactions.
The story is reported by BusinessDay newspaper of February 4, 2019.
The CBN debunked the story via a statement by its Director, Corporate Communication, Mr. Isaac Okorafor. The statement read:
“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 the 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.
“The 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 the 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 the
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.”