The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) say it has recently disbursed approximately $61.64m to foreign airlines through various banks in fulfilment of its commitment to eliminate the backlog of pending matured foreign exchange in Deposit Money Banks (DMBs).
This initiative the CBN’s say is part of efforts to decrease its remaining liability to the airlines.
Acting Director of the Corporate Communications Department at the apex bank, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali who made this known in a statement at the weekend in Abuja further disclosed that, in the past three months, the CBN redeemed outstanding forward liabilities amounting to almost $2 billion. This she added underscores the Bank’s commitment to the resolution of pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market.
According to her, these payments signify the CBN’s ongoing efforts to settle all remaining valid forward transactions, with the aim of alleviating the current pressure on the country’s exchange rate.
Sidi Ali in the statement anticipated that this initiative by the CBN should provide a considerable boost to the Naira against other major world currencies and further increase investor confidence in the Nigeria economy.
The International Air Transport Association IATA had reported in December 2023 that Nigeria holds the highest trapped funds belonging to airlines at $792m; foreign airlines have been selling tickets to Nigerians in dollars to repatriate their funds in hard currency while some like Emirates have ceased flying the Nigerian route.
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