EFCC THREATENS TO ARREST NIGERIANS WHO KEEP DOLLARS IN LIGHT OF NIGERIA'S CURRENCY CRISIS

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stepped up attempts to avoid the naira from falling much lower by taking action to curb what it sees as acts weakening the nation's foreign exchange market.

The CBN promised to take serious measures to control the recent drop of the naira to N710/$1, which it said was the result of market speculation. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has been brought into the fight by the apex bank, which has shifted its attention to the parallel market aand held Bureau de Change operators and members of the public accountable for the problem.

The naira appreciated to N680 per dollar in the black market on Saturday and held steady at N428 per dollar in the Investor and Export window as a result of the EFCC's raids on Bureau de Change businesses in Lagos and Abuja.

The anti-graft agency has issued a warning that it will jail anyone seen storing or stockpiling foreign currency.

The warning was given by the anti-graft agency's chairman, Abdulrasheed Bawa, on Friday in Abuja at a meeting with representatives of Bureau De Change operators. According to the intelligence the CIA has acquired, he claimed that Nigerians are hoarding foreign cash as the value of the naira drops.

“The Commission has information that some people and organizations are stockpiling foreign currency, particularly dollars, in important business hubs including Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu, and Calabar. A significant effort against the speculators is beginning, therefore we advise anyone participating to stop or risk being arrested,” he stated in a statement.

The CBN warned that it will punish banks, arrest, and prosecute Nigerians who use the naira to acquire dollars last month and blamed the depreciation of the naira on illegal FX activity.

Although much of the blame for the naira's troubles has been placed on BDCs, media, and the general people, the CBN has said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has been withholding payments to the nation's foreign reserve for months.

The argument is supported by experts' claims that the FX crisis is being exacerbated by a lack of dollar liquidity in the nation, despite the NNPC's denial of the claim. The NNPC is the only organization in the nation that exports and imports only petroleum goods. Over $2 billion, according to the NNPC, has been transferred into the account in recent months.

The EFCC is starting a rescue effort while the two agencies argue. The “save the naira” message, which will be sent to BDC operators countrywide, is already having a good impact, according to a statement released by the anti-graft agency following the meeting with parallel market stakeholders.

Similar meetings are also scheduled with important participants, regulators, and operators of the Nigerian financial sector, as well as other Bureau de Change operators in Nigeria's major commercial hubs.

However, as long as dollar-earning firms (export) in Nigeria continue to be as underdeveloped as they are, it is doubtful that the EFCC's participation would result in any appreciable change in the existing currency market.