The pledge made by President Bola Tinubu to settle the estimated $7 billion in unpaid foreign exchange obligations of the Federal Government on foreign currency forwards contracts due to banks may have been started by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hardly ten days later.
Dr. Isah Abdulmumin, the top bank’s spokesperson, was cited by Reuters as confirming the development yesterday. She also mentioned that financial sources claimed a $1 billion initial payment had been made.
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“All foreign exchange future contracts will be honored by this government,” President Tinubu said last week Monday, opening the 29th Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja. We will obtain the foreign exchange required to stabilize our economy, I can guarantee you of that.
The business community was reassured by the President that important preparations are in place to boost foreign exchange liquidity, which helped to allay their anxieties. He declared that his government will uphold the terms of all valid contracts pertaining to the country’s foreign exchange requirements.
Abdulmumin stated, “The CBN has started paying the FX backlogs to banks,” in an interview with Reuters. 14 banks have received payment thus far. but refused to reveal the sum or the banks’ names.
However, four banking sources told Reuters that the banks received payments totaling roughly $1 billion, with more payments to come in the coming weeks.
It further stated that some banks received the whole amount owing, while others received up to 80% of the backlog.
Yemi Cardoso, the governor of the CBN, stated at the Economic Summit that reducing the backlog was a top priority but did not provide an estimated time frame.