Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and human rights attorney, has referred to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) floating of the naira as illegal.
The CBN asked deposit money banks to collapse all transactions into the importer and exporter window, allowing the naira to float freely against other currencies. As a result, market forces determine the naira’s worth in relation to other currencies.
As a result, the exchange rate, previously set at about N460/$, is currently between N700 and N800/$.
On Friday’s Sunrise Daily on Channels Television, Falana said that the apex bank’s move to float the naira violated the CBN Act.
He said, “There’s no provision for floating the naira. It’s illegal. You say, ‘The value of the naira will be determined by market forces. That is not there in the law.
“I’ve had to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Federal High Court because Section 16 of the Central Bank Act has imposed a duty on the Central Bank to fix and determine the rate of the naira vis-a-vis other currency.”
Falana cited Section 20(1) of the CBN Act, which said that only currency notes issued by the Central Bank, specifically the naira, are recognised as official legal tender in Nigeria.
He continued by stating that under Section 20(5) of the Act, anyone found guilty of using any other currency in Nigeria without the central bank’s consent faces a six-month prison sentence.
The country’s progress, according to Falana, would be constrained unless officials in charge made efforts to fortify the naira and make it the exclusive form of legal cash in Nigeria.
