The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has made available 210 million dollars to meet customers’ requests in various segments of the foreign exchange (FOREX) market.
The apex bank disclosed this in a statement signed by Mr Isaac Okorafor, the acting Director, Corporate Communications, in Abuja, on Wednesday.
Okorafor said CBN offered 100 million dollars to authorised dealers in the wholesale segment of the market.
He noted that the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) segment got an allocation of 55 million dollars.
He added that customers needing foreign exchange for invisibles such as tuition fees, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance (BTA), among others, were also allocated 55 million dollars.
He stated that “CBN has reliably gathered that some banks are turning back customers that come to purchase BTA/PTA and Foreign Exchange for pilgrimage.
“We hereby appeal to bank customers to go straight to their banks to buy forex as the CBN has supplied enough dollars to banks to meet needs in the invisible segment.
“Customers are hereby enjoined to report any bank that refuses to attend to their legitimate demands within 24 hours. Please call 07002255226,” he said.
Okorafor stated that the commitment to continue to intervene in the interbank foreign exchange market was in line with pledge to sustain liquidity in the market and maintain stability.
He said the CBN would sustain its strategic management of the foreign exchange market with a view to reducing the country’s import bills and halt depletion of its foreign reserves.
The CBN on Friday intervened in the market to the tune of 293 million dollars to cater for requests in the retail segment of the forex market.
Meanwhile, the Naira continued its stability in the market, exchanging at an average of N363 to a dollar in the Bureau De Change segment of the market. -NAN.
