The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has promised that it will continue to make deliberate efforts in the foreign exchange sector in light of the growing demand for foreign currency from Nigerians for both goods and services. The CBN claimed that speculative tendencies were driving the downward slide in the value of the naira.
Yesterday, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, urged the public to resist the temptation to fall prey to the speculative practises of some participants in the foreign exchange market.
Reiterating the CBN Governor’s earlier stance, Mr. Godwin Emefiele urged Nigerians to play their part by changing their consumption habits, reflecting inward, and coming up with creative solutions to the problems facing the nation.
He submitted that Monetary policy alone could not bear all the burden of the expected adjustments needed to manage the challenges around Nigeria’s foreign exchange and admonished,: “It’s our collective duty as Nigerians to shore up the value of the Naira”.
According to him, the CBN remained committed to resolving the foreign exchange issues confronting the nation and as such has been working to manage both the demand and supply side challenges.
The spokesman said that recent initiatives undertaken by the CBN Bank such as the RT200 FX Programme and the Naira4Dollar rebate scheme had helped to increase foreign exchange inflow to the country.”
According to him, the bank’s records showed that foreign exchange inflow through the RT200 FX Programme in the first and second quarters of 2022 increased significantly to about US$600 million as at June 2022.
Similarly, he disclosed that the Naira4Dollar incentive also increased the volume of Diaspora remittances during the first half of the year.
Continuing, Mr. Nwanisobi said “interventions such as 100 for 100 Policy on Production and Productivity, Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) and the Non-Oil Export Stimulation Facility (NESF), among others, were also geared towards diversifying the economy, enhancing inflow of foreign exchange, Stimulating production and reducing foreign exchange demand pressure.”
While admitting that there was huge demand pressure for foreign exchange to meet the needs of manufacturers, as well as, those for the payment of tuition, medical fees and other invisibles, Mr. Nwanisobi said the bank was concerned about the international value of the naira, adding that the monetary authority was strategizing to help Nigeria earn more stable and sustainable inflows of foreign exchange in the face of dwindling inflows from the oil sector.
Follow NL on Social Media
Twitter
Twitter Instagram
Instagram Telegram
Telegram Tiktok
