‘It’s illegal to do business in Dollars,’ CBN says

monjola sotubo

March 25, 2015 5:50 PM

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele has said that people found transacting in the foreign currency would face prosecution if caught.

Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has declared that it is illegal to trade in dollars in Nigeria.

CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele has said that people found transacting in the foreign currency would face prosecution if caught.

Emefiele stated this on Tuesday, March 24, while addressing journalists in Abuja after the two-day meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).

“We will be looking at areas where people are making demands for foreign currency; people who are landlords who are asking for rent in dollars; schools that are asking for school fees in dollars or transacting business in dollars,” he said.

"The official currency for doing business in Nigeria remains the Naira. Collecting rents or school fees in dollars in Nigeria is illegal. We like to advice those involved in these practices to desist from them, because CBN would very soon begin to go after them,” he added.

Emefiele on the current Dollar-Naira exchange rate saying the decline was caused by the drop in crude oil prices and the impact on the Naira.

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