CBN blames private sector for dollar scarcity

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Deputy Director, Banking Services, Egboagwu Ezulu, has blamed the private sector for the scarcity of foreign currencies, after the dollar value crossed N700.

Ezulu said the private sector had been obtaining foreign exchange from the central bank, but not repatriating the earnings from business transacted with the international currencies.

He told the Association of Corporate Affairs Managers of Banks (ACAMB), during a conference, on Wednesday, that failure to repatriate the earnings on the forex had contributed to the scarcity.

Read also:Emefiele-led CBN policies killing Nigeria’s economy, sack him now, Youth Council tells Buhari

In his words, “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?” Ezulu said.

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