Rep call CBN gov for lifting currency restrictions on rice, toothpicks, and other 41 goods

Sada Soli, a member of the House of Representatives, said on Tuesday on the floor of the House of Representatives that the easing of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s prohibition on foreign exchange for 43 products may destroy the local economy.

In response to the central bank’s decision to ease the foreign exchange embargo on fertiliser, cement, toothpicks, and 40 other commodities, the House called the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, to testify before it.

The CBN’s abrupt move to suspend the prohibition coincides with the foreign currency market experiencing significant volatility levels as a result of President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s merging of all trading windows into the investors’ and exporters’ window (the official FX market).

The CBN reiterates that the current Foreign Exchange (FX) rates should be referred to from platforms like the CBN website, FMDQ, and other recognised or appointed trading systems to promote price discovery, transparency, and credibility in the FX rates, according to a statement released by the apex bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Isa AbdulMumin.

READ ALSO: CBN lifts the forex ban on 43 items in order to intervene in the forex market

Following the approval of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by Sada Soli, a member of the House representing Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency, Katsina State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, the Green Chamber on Tuesday passed a resolution to summon the CBN governor.

The apex bank’s decision, according to Soli, may result in the closure of factories, which would ultimately weaken the country’s ability to develop its domestic economy.

He asserts that it is unlikely that the new policy would have a significant impact on the Nigerian economy and emphasises the possibility that “middlemen” may abuse it for their personal gain.

In his contribution to the motion, Jesse Onuakalusi, a legislator from Lagos State’s Oshodi/Isolo II Federal Constituency, requested that the policy be immediately reversed until the House had finished its legislative action on the issue.

After then, the House Committee on Regulatory Banking, Finance, and Customs approved an amendment to the motion made by Kingsley Chinda on behalf of the Obio/Akpor Federal Constituency in Rivers State, requesting that Cardoso appear before the committee to discuss the justification for lifting the restriction.