The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says that the non-remittance of dollars to foreign reserves by the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is responsible for the naira’s free fall in the official and parallel markets.
As of the close of work yesterday, the naira was sold for N700/$1 at the parallel market and N415.96/$1 at the official market.
The CBN explanation was given in a report that was released yesterday.
In the CBN report titled: “The forex question in Nigeria: Fact sheet”, the apex bank disclosed that “domestically, there has been zero dollar remittance to the country’s foreign reserve by the NNPC, insisting that the CBN does not print dollars.
The report states: “As noted by the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, monetary policy alone cannot bear all the burden of the expected adjustments needed to manage these difficulties. It’s our collective duty as Nigerians to shore up the value of the naira.”
According to the apex bank, Nigeria earns foreign exchange from four sources – proceeds from oil exports; proceeds from non-oil exports; diaspora remittances, and Foreign Direct/Portfolio Investments (capital flows).
NNPC and its subsidiaries are the sole managers of crude oil which accounts for more than 80 percent of Nigeria’s Foreign Exchange (forex) earnings.
