The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday announced that it had disbursed about $61.64 million to foreign airlines through various Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) in the country.
CBN added that it had redeemed outstanding forward liabilities amounting to about $2 billion in the past three months, taking the total to about $2.062 billion. The FX intervention was confirmed in a statement issued by CBN’s acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs. Hakama Sidi.
The central bank said the payment reaffirmed its commitment to eliminating the backlog of pending matured foreign exchange in banks as well as dousing pressure on the exchange rate.
Sidi explained that the initiative was part of the apex bank’s efforts to decrease its outstanding liability to the airlines. She said, “This underscores the CBN’s commitment to the resolution of pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market.”
According to her, the payments consolidate 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.
By the latest intervention, the central bank hopes to provide a considerable boost to the naira against other major world currencies as well as increase investors’ confidence in the economy.
