The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has successfully cleared a $7 billion foreign exchange backlog after a thorough verification process by forensic auditors. CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso made this announcement on Wednesday at the launch of Nigeria’s Regulatory Policy Framework, organized by the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) in Abuja.
Cardoso stated that resolving the forex backlog had taken longer than expected but assured that the issue had now been addressed. He noted that this move would help businesses, multinational corporations, and foreign investors repatriate funds more easily.
“In addressing foreign exchange liquidity constraint, decisive steps have been taken to clear outstanding $7bn forex backlog to ensure that businesses, multinationals, corporations, and foreign investors can repatriate funds seamlessly,” Cardoso said.
He further explained that the verification process had helped separate legitimate claims from unverified ones, ensuring that only valid claims were settled. “We also looked at the unverified ones, and I believe that we are at the final stages of separating what qualifies as fully verified, and we will surely be paying out those money that have been verified by the forensic auditors,” he said.
The governor acknowledged that the process took longer than anticipated due to past irregularities. However, he assured that the CBN was committed to improving market stability and building investor confidence. “It is unfortunate, to be honest, that it has taken so long. But the truth of the matter is that there were a lot of practices that went on that really should never have happened in the first place,” he stated.
Meanwhile, PEBEC Director-General, Princess Zahrah Audu, noted that businesses expected a stable and predictable policy environment from the government. She emphasized the administration’s commitment to involving stakeholders in policy formation.
“We are going to help you become a part of the formation of this policy because one of the things we actively encourage our MDAs to do is to have a sectoral stakeholder engagement in smaller groups,” she said.
Audu assured that the government was taking a different approach by actively seeking input from businesses. She noted that balancing government and private sector perspectives was essential to policy-making.
