The Central Bank of Nigeria has disclosed that it has concluded payment of all verified claims by airlines with an additional $64.44m to the concerned airlines.
The CBN said the payment was part of fulfilment of its pledge to clear the backlog of foreign exchange owed foreign airlines in the country.
The Acting Director of Corporate Communications at the CBN, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday.
CBN’s forward contract obligations to banks stood at $7bn, according to reports. The delay in the debt repayment have been blamed to be responsible for the current volatility in the forex market, a situation that has led to the falling value of the naira against the US dollar.
The CBN earlier paid $2 billion to clear a part of its backlog of matured foreign exchange obligations to the Deposit Money Banks.
Foreign airlines in Nigeria have struggled with the challenge of repatriating their ticket sales in foreign exchange.
The situation has resulted in a substantial backlog, reaching billions of dollars.
Sidi noted that the latest amount paid to the airlines brought the total verified amount paid to that sector to $136.73m. She added that all the verified airline claims had now been cleared.
The statement reads, “The Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, and his team were doubly committed and would stop at nothing to ensure that the verified backlog of payments across all other sectors was cleared and confidence was restored in the Nigerian foreign exchange market.
“Furthermore, she assured that the CBN was working with stakeholders to ensure liquidity improves within the forex market, thereby reducing pressure on the Naira.
“While expressing optimism that the market would respond positively with the latest injection of over $64m, she admonished actors in the foreign exchange market to guard against speculation as such actions could hurt the Naira.
“Sidi Ali, therefore, urged the public to support the reforms in the foreign exchange market, adding that the CBN would continue to promote orderliness and professional conduct by all participants in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market to ensure market forces determine exchange rates,” the document stated.
