The Central Bank of Nigeria is proposing a string of new amendments to the Foreign Exchange, Monitoring and Miscellaneous Exchange Act (FEMM). The act signed to law in 2014 basically liberalized the foreign exchange market in Nigeria allowing for foreign investors to import money into the country and repatriate same freely.

This is currently the act that governs the foreign exchange market in Nigeria. Despite this, the CBN believes it is mostly flawed particularly in the current economic situation and seeks to amend a large portion of the act.

The CBN made its position known in a “working paper” shared to members of the CIBN and can also be found in the website of the Nigerian Law Reform Commission.

However, critics of the proposed amendments point Nairametrics to portions of the CBN’s proposed amendments tantamount to foreign currency controls and abrogating super powers to an “already powerful CBN”. Here are examples of some of the proposed amendments;

The CBN says the act allows for “foreign currency purchased from the market to be repatriated without restrictions” and thus will like this amended. .
The CBN also believes the act “prohibits the seizure, forfeiture or expropriation of imported money by the government without providing exceptions. As such, the CBN wants to have powers to seize any foreign currency”.
The CBN is also unhappy that the law “allows foreign currency in excess of five thousand dollars imported or exported subject to declaration of statistics reason only.”
The CBN is also recommending that it be granted powers to restrict or prohibit the exportation of foreign currency when and where necessary to “protect the economy”.
The CBN also wants powers to “approve and where necessary restrict or prohibit repatriation of foreign currency to save the Nigerian economy”
The CBN also wants an amendment that allows it have the powers to “prevent monopoly and hoarding and a time limit for deposit of foreign currency in the bank”

While some aspects of the amendments are well intended, the above recommendations by the CBN does raise questions about the commitment of the CBN and indeed this government to allow for a market driven flexible exchange rate.

Axon:
This government is always looking for ridiculous powers to achieve nothing. From the top to the bottom, they have nothing to offer


They start using force ...when they fail to use their brains

tafrica:


While some aspects of the amendments are well intended, the above recommendations by the CBN does raise questions about the commitment of the CBN and indeed this government to allow for a market driven flexible exchange rate.

tafrica:
liberalized the foreign exchange market in Nigeria allowing for foreign investors to import money into the country and repatriate same freely

GenBuhari:
in response to the bolded comment below from the article, how does being foolish and allow profits from your country to be repatriated out of the country equate to allowing for a market driven flexible exchange rate? There is no connection.

dboss444:
i do not the reason why this govt fails to understand that we are no more in d industrial age that we are in d information age. money control is now electronic so its easy for money put in and put out. its happening everywhere in d world there is nothing they can do about it. just make d Nigerian investment space attractive to investors and they would leave their money here.

even if they have d law will u strt monitoring interswit ch transaction. its never possible except u want more recession

Akainzo:


So you actually believe those scenes in movies where they just transfer monies across borders without issues? Sorry to burst your bubble, that is not how it happens!

There are restrictions to expatriating monies out of every developed country. Just try to get to a bank in US and want to transfer $30K out of the country, then you'd understand that it is not like in the movies. Common $5K sef MoneyGram and Western Union go ask you so much tori you go waka away or go to the banks, but for here in Naija, anyone can sit on his laptop and fiam, $30K don waka comot from Naija go US.

Dee60:
I think that quite a number of the people commenting here are spewing rubbish.

Try taking out 16,000 dollars out of USA or Canada without full declaration/justification and see what they will do to you? Not only will the funds be seized you may even be prosecuted for money laundering. Those ones are even better. You cannot export 100 dollars out of China or India without full justificatin of what the money is meant for.

Here in Nigeria, forex flows freely as if we are jankara nation.

In Nigeria, someone is caught with 6million dollars cash at home. A senator was alleged to have lost 300,000 dollars to domestic staff. Millions of dollars were found in judges' homes. Not even a bank in Europe or America is allowed to keep 300,000 dollars in its vault at any time!!!

Our currency keeps losing value because embezzlers and bribe takers keep buying forex to keep at home.

CBN is right.

They must find a way to stop keeping dollars in their houses when banks dont have dollars to sell to importers.
They must stop the terrible habit of people moving hundreds of thousands of dolars cash accross the borders. No sane nation allows that to happen. None.
People write on NL out of ignorance sometimes.