CBN injects fresh $64m, says payment of all verified FX claims by foreign airlines concluded

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has disclosed that all verified foreign exchange (FX) claims by airlines have been concluded with the payment of additional $64.44 million to the concerned foreign aviation firms.

This development was announced by Hakama Sidi-Ali, CBN’s acting director of corporate communications on Tuesday.

Sidi-Ali said the latest amount paid to the airlines brought the total verified sum disbursed to the sector to $136.73 million, stressing that all the verified airline claims have now been cleared.

This figure is a far cry from the $800 million revenue that the foreign airlines are claiming to be trapped in Nigeria.

READ ALSO: CBN releases fresh $500m to clear verified FX backlogs

President of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN), Dr. Kingsley Nwokoma, had during a press conference held at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, recently put the figure owed the foreign airlines at $800m saying the amount paid is a drop in the bucket.

According to Sidi-Ali, Olayemi Cardoso, the CBN governor, and his team are committed and would stop at nothing to ensure that the verified backlog of payments across all other sectors are cleared and confidence restored in the Nigerian FX market.

She also assured that the CBN is working with stakeholders to ensure liquidity improves within the forex market, thereby reducing pressure on the naira — Nigeria’s local currency.

While expressing optimism that the market would respond positively with the latest injection of over $64 million, she admonished actors in the FX market to guard against speculation as such actions could hurt the naira.

Siri-Ali, therefore, urged the public to support the reforms in the FX market, adding that the CBN would continue to promote orderliness and professional conduct by all participants to ensure market forces determine exchange rates.

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