For the second time in three years, the Central Bank of Nigeria has refuted the report that it planned to convert domiciliary account holdings by customers, totaling $30bn, into Naira.
Quoting an unnamed source, a national medium (not Iya Magazine) had reported that “there are strong indications that the Federal Government is mulling a policy that will result in the conversion of foreign currencies in domiciliary accounts of citizens to naira to stabilize the national currency, which earlier this week recorded its worst performance in history.”
It may be recalled that on September 12, 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria had assured members of the public that it will not convert the foreign exchange in the domiciliary accounts of customers into naira. The Bank was then reacting to social media claims that it wanted to do so.
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The recent denial was made known on Saturday [today] in a press release signed by the Bank’s Ag. Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi-Ali.
The Press release states:
The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn to a story published by
a national newspaper alleging that the Federal Government is considering converting $30bn
domiciliary deposits to Naira.
This allegation is absolutely false and aims to trigger panic in the foreign exchange market,
which the CBN is working assiduously to stabilize, as evidenced by its recent work and policy directions.
Similar false narratives have been spread on the work of the CBN over the past few months
and it is clear that vested interests are determined to sabotage our efforts.
We want to assure the general public that CBN is working to build confidence and would
never do anything to undermine the currency and the economy.
We, therefore, urge all stakeholders to disregard stories aimed at causing panic in the system and see them clearly for what they are – acts of national sabotage.
We wish to advise, in the strongest terms, against the peddling of false reports that have the potential to be disruptive to the economy. The Bank is the only designated authority for
monetary policy changes and will always advise on any policy change(s) before they are
brought into operation.
The CBN is always open to answer questions about our policies.
