A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and rights activists, Femi Falana has described the Central Bank of Nigeria’s decision to float the Naira at the foreign exchange market as illegal.
Crux News recalls that the CBN had in June directed Deposit Money Banks to freely float the naira against the dollar and other international currencies.
As of Friday August 18, the Apex Bank puts the exchange rate between N744 and N746.
Speaking of the development during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily Friday, Falana stated that the CBN Act made it compulsory for the apex bank to fix exchange rate.
Falana during the interview monitored by Crux News, noted that Nigeria’s economy is in crisis because it has been dollarized.
“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.”
He explained that Section 20(1) of the CBN Act provides that the only legal tender in Nigeria shall be the currency notes issued by the Central Bank: “only the naira.”
Also reacting to the Federal Government’s approval of N5 billion palliative for each 36 states including the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Falana argued that the measures were diversionary.
“The FG have not addressed the root of the crisis, which is the dollarisation of the economy. Whatever palliatives that are announced will be eaten up by dollarisation of the economy”, Falana stated.
