Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, has advised citizens keeping foreign exchange (FX) currencies in their private saves to deposit such currencies in banks within the next nine months or be sanctioned.
The minister, who disclosed this while briefing journalists at the end of the National Economic Council’s, (NEC’s) meeting in Abuja, said the latest move was part of ongoing monetary policy measures aimed at tackling abuses in the financial system, including the volatility of the exchange rate of the naira in the FX markets.
According to the minister, such individuals have a nine-month grace period to comply with the directive without attracting legal liability or financial penalties.
Edun, who also gave some highlights on the achievements recorded by the government on its economic relief measures, disclosed that 25 million Nigerians had so far benefitted from federal social protection initiatives, including digital outreach, microenterprise loans, and sector-specific support for power, agriculture, manufacturing, health, and compressed natural gas (CNG) initiatives.
He expatiated: “One element of the cost increase is the foreign exchange rate, and that is demand and supply. There is going to be a release today, details by the federal government through the Ministry of Finance, in conjunction with the Central Bank, a programme, starting today, 31st of October, and lasting nine months, that will allow people to bring in cash that is outside the banking system.
“So therefore it is unsafe, it is unsecure and it is outside of legal limits. They will allow forbearance to bring dollars cash. Let me emphasize once again, it is to bring dollars that they are holding outside the system to be able to bring them in and credit it to their bank accounts, as long as it is not proceeds of crime, illicit money. There will be no penalty, there will be no taxes, there will be no questions.
“They just meet the normal ‘Know Your Customer’ criteria of banks and they have an opportunity to bring in those funds, make them safe, make them secure, and make them available through normal, economic activity.
“The details of that, the guidelines of that, will be released, first of all, the announcement by the Ministry of Finance and the guidelines later will follow very quickly by Central Bank.
“That is an opportunity, not just for people who would normally like to comply, to be compliant with the laws and normal business practice, but of course, it gives us an opportunity to bring those dollars from where they are doing nothing to where they are within the financial system, they add to our reserves, and of course can help with the exchange rate”, Edun added.
