This is contained in a statement issued by CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mrs Hakama Sidi-Ali.

According to her, it was the latest testament to the apex bank’s commitment to support the fx market by enhancing liquidity when necessary.

“In line with its pledge to provide transparent access to foreign exchange for all legitimate customers, the CBN’s leadership has introduced an additional mechanism.

“This is through the Retail Dutch Auction System (RDAS) to directly facilitate fx sales to end users.

“This approach aims to foster a more transparent market, reducing information asymmetry and supporting price discovery.

“It complements the two-way quote system deployed over the past few months to enhance liquidity in the interbank market.

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“Through it, more than 305 million dollars of foreign exchange has been sold to authorised dealers in the last three weeks,” she said.

The director said that the CBN’s policy objectives were yielding tangible results and bolstering market confidence.

According to her, net foreign exchange flows rose to 25.4 billion dollars between January and June, marking a 55 per cent year-over-year increase.

She said that that growth had been driven by a rise in capital importation, which reached six billion dollars in June, and record inflows from diaspora remittances through formal channels.

“The foreign exchange market is also showing signs of improvement and increased depth, with more robust and diversified sources of liquidity contributing to the sustained convergence of exchange rates across all segments of the market.

“The official market recorded a turnover of 43 billion dollars in customer transactions by the end of July, with CBN-supplied liquidity representing less than five per cent of total market activities.

“The CBN remains steadfast in its commitment to fostering a transparent, market-driven foreign exchange market.

“It will also continue to strengthen the market’s capacity to meet the needs of all legitimate participants,” she said.

Source: NAN

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This is according to a statement by CBN’s Acting Director, Corporate Communications, Mrs Hakama Sidi.

Sidi said that the step was in fulfilment of a key pledge of the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso, to process an inherited backlog of seven billion dollars in claims.

She said that the CBN recently concluded the payment of 1.5 billion to settle obligations to bank customers, effectively settling the residual balance of the FX backlog.

She also said that independent auditors from Deloitte Consulting meticulously assessed the transactions, ensuring that only legitimate claims were honoured.

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According to her, any invalid transactions were promptly referred to the relevant authorities for further scrutiny.

Meanwhile, Cardoso said that the apex bank made clearing the FX backlog a priority to restore credibility and confidence in the Nigerian economy.

“It was important that we go through an independent and credible process that would determine the authenticity of those obligations, and, at this point, I can tell you that we have now cleared all genuine, verifiable transactions.

“This encumbrance to market confidence in the country’s ability to meet its obligations is now totally behind us,” he added.

Clearance of the foreign exchange transactions backlog is part of the overall strategy detailed in the last Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting.

The aim, according to the CBN, was to stabilise the exchange rate and thereby curb imported inflation, spurring confidence in the banking system and the economy.

Cardoso had used the MPC meeting and a subsequent conference call with foreign portfolio investors to set expectations for sustained increase in Nigeria’s foreign currency reserves and improved liquidity in the foreign exchange market.

The CBN, afterwards, reported a significant increase in external reserves, rising by 993 million dollars to 34.11 billion dollars as of March 7, the highest level in eight months.

The apex bank reported that month-on-month increase was driven by a marked advance in remittance payments by Nigerians overseas.

It said that higher purchases of local assets, including government debt securities, by foreign investors , was also responsible for the increase.

Source: NAN

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The president gave the assurance on Wednesday in Abuja when speaking during an advocacy visit of the leadership of MAN, in response to requests on making the manufacturing sector contribute more to the Nigerian economy.

The president told the Mansur Ahmed-led executives of MAN that the relevant ministry would revisit their concerns about the increase in excise duties on the identified products and other tariff-related matters.

On the African Continental Free Trade Area, AfCFTA, the president said Nigeria would fast track the process of setting up the Designated Competent Authority that will superintend the administration of Rules of Origin and Commission as well as the automation for issuance of electronic Certificate of Origin.

He added that the federal government would also ensure that relevant structured platforms are established for monitoring and evaluation of the performance of the Ease of Doing Business and improved Government patronage of made in Nigeria products.

‘‘Our strategic plan to boost manufacturing activities in the country is on course.

‘‘We will continue to improve the patronage of locally made goods, bridge the gap between skills required by industry and those provided by our tertiary institutions and ensure seamless access to long term finance for our Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

‘‘We recognise that MAN remains a key stakeholder in this journey and we will continue our engagement with you,’’ he said.

Affirming his belief that a private sector led economy is the way to create jobs in the country, Buhari urged the leadership of MAN to continue to encourage manufacturers that government recognised the resilience of their members and other private sector organisations in promoting a virile manufacturing sector in Nigeria.

‘‘I beseech you to continue to support the government in our quest to provide the appropriate environment that will attract the necessary investment both domestic and foreign for the upliftment of the nation’s economy,’’ he said.

On the impact of COVID-19 on world economies, the president noted that while the pandemic had an adverse impact on the Nigerian economy with the attendant fluctuations in the price of oil, his administration had effectively contained the spread of the pandemic and other diseases.

He added that the federal government would continue to consistently deploy prudent means of judiciously utilising the limited revenue to sustain the economy and stimulate growth.

President Buhari also used the occasion to reemphasise that in spite of limited resources, his government had made appreciable progress in road and rail infrastructure development; provision of stimulus packages for the manufacturing sector; improvement in energy management and support for exporters with a view to improving the operating environment for businesses in Nigeria.

‘‘These projects are there for all to see.

“Furthermore, we are vigorously pursuing reforms on ease of doing business and currently putting in place other necessary policy measures and incentives that will guarantee full recovery from the consequences of COVID-19, sustain economic development and further shield the economy from the potential impact of fluctuations in the price of crude oil in the global market.

‘‘I have listened carefully to all the challenges enumerated by the President of MAN and would like to assure you that, like we have done in the recent past, we will give consideration to some of the constraints that are yet to be fully addressed, especially those that align with our policies and programmes for economic recovery and sustainable development.

‘‘Let me assure you that this Administration is fully aware that the survival of Nigeria lies in Agriculture and having a viable domestic Manufacturing sector.

‘‘I must emphasise here that when I say Agriculture, I also refer to Agro-Allied business which is the value-added component in the value chain.

‘‘A strong manufacturing sector creates more jobs and wealth for our people.

‘‘It will usher in sustainable economic prosperity because we will produce what we consume as a nation and generate foreign exchange by exporting surpluses and by import substitution,’’ he said.

In her remarks, the Minister of State, Industry, Trade and Investment, Amb. Mariam Katagum pledged that the Ministry would continue to work with MAN in the areas of policy, trade and creating an environment to facilitate the growth of businesses in Nigeria.

‘‘MAN is in business to create a climate of opinion in this country so that manufacturers can operate efficiently and profitably for the benefit of all,’’ she said.

Speaking at the event, the MAN president said the advocacy visit was largely motivated by two things: namely, to thank the president for all the support extended to the manufacturing sector since his assumption of office in 2015, and seek the urgent support of the federal government for the manufacturing sector to overcome the binding constraints to competitive manufacturing in Nigeria.

On the challenges facing the sector, the MAN president said the association had articulated remedial measures for the challenges in the Blueprint for Accelerated Development of Manufacturing in Nigeria, which would be formally presented to the president within the first quarter of 2022.

The MAN leadership, however, highlighted a few challenges that could be addressed in the immediate term in order to improve the manufacturing environment.

They include: inadequate supply of foreign exchange, inadequate electricity supply, poor access to long term fund, patronage of Made-in-Nigeria Goods and local content development, looming increases in tax rate, among others.

Ahmed also used the occasion to formally present the new logo and annual report of the association to President Buhari.

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It is the first time the bank would be intervening in the interbank foreign market in November.

The amount, according to the bank’s Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, was in addition to 56.17 million Chinese Yuan (CNY) in the spot and short tenored forwards segment of the market.

In a statement he issued in Abuja on Friday, Okorafor said the money was to take care of requests in the agriculture and raw materials sectors.

“The Chinese Yuan, on the other hand, was for Renminbi denominated Letters of Credit.”

He said the regular interventions by the CBN had brought about stability in the market.

He said it had also guaranteed stable exchange rate for the Naira.

Okorafor stated that the CBN would continue to ensure that all the sectors of the forex market continued to enjoy access to the needed foreign exchange.

On Tuesday, CBN intervened in the wholesale segment of the inter-bank Foreign Exchange Market with the injection of $210 million.

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