The Deputy Governor of Corporate Services at the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mohammed Bello, has disclosed that about $2.4 billion out of the $7 billion backlog for foreign exchange claims were fictitious.
This disclosure was made by Bello during the 2024 Law Week event of the Nigerian Bar Association at the Garki Branch in Abuja on Monday, according to The Punch.
Bello said there were many requests for clearance of outstanding forex obligations when he assumed his post.
In addition, he said it was necessary to carry out a comprehensive audit of those received to establish whether the claims were genuine or not.
He said, “Following the completion of the audit, we discovered that about $2.4bn out of the claimed backlog of $7bn were fictitious. The bank thus took steps to clear the authentic forex backlog that has aided the stabilisation of the naira.
“It is imperative to note further that before this settlement, major foreign airlines operating in the country blocked their low inventory seats due to their inability to repatriate trapped FX inflow.
“It is gratifying to add that the clearing of FX backlog for airlines led to the release of cheaper seats to Nigerians, thereby ameliorating the cost of airfares and reducing the demand for FX and as a consequence, the pressure on the naira.”
He added that “the resultant effects of some of these measures are that, this month saw the naira emerge as the best-performing currency globally, which was supported by the bullish sentiments of leading international investment institutions, and the FX market experiencing robust activities with turnover reaching levels not attained in over seven years”.
He noted that contractionary policies and measures were adopted to reduce cash in circulation to address the rising inflation rate in the country.
