Senate rejects move to punish forex hoarders, CBN denies knowledge of plan

The Senate has rejected a proposal to jail or fine anyone found guilty of keeping foreign currency for over a month.

The Nigerian Law Reform Commission (NLRC) is seeking a review of the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Act, to empower the Central Bank of Nigeria to jail people for up to two years or fine them for 20 per cent of the amount of the foreign currency held in their possession for more than 30 days

Senate spokesperson, Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC, Niger North) however, said that with the National Assembly’s focus on boosting investors’ confidence, such a proposition by the NLRC that could prevent investors from making free entry and free exit from the Nigerian market would be rejected.

Abdullahi, who is the Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs said: “The measure is disruptive and counterproductive, threatening to undermine many of the reform efforts already underway in the legislature and by government ministries intended to boost investor confidence.”

According to Abdullahi, “The Senate would never pass such a punitive and regressive proposal. Admitted that some of the commission’s recommendations have many sound attributes and could help Nigeria’s investment climate. We believe the CBN should have the authority to regulate the forex market and determine the exchange rate policy as already enshrined in its enabling act.

“A market-oriented exchange rate policy is the best recipe for guiding the operations of the foreign exchange market. This will ensure the supremacy of market mechanisms in efficiently allocating the scarce forex resources,” he said.

He added: “We will continue to work with the executive to halt the worsening recession and return to economic growth.”

Meanwhile, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied knowledge of any amendment bill or plans to seize dollar values in the domiciliary accounts of individuals.

The apex bank’s Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okoroafor said in Abuja yesterday that “To the best of my knowledge, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has not proposed any bill seeking to arrest and jail persons holding foreign exchange for more than 30 days.”