The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) says it has recently disbursed approximately US $61.64 million to foreign airlines through various banks.
The Acting Director of the Corporate Communications Department at the CBN, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, disclosed this in Abuja at the weekend.
Ali said this initiative is part of the CBN’s efforts to decrease its remaining liability to the airlines.
Mrs. Ali further disclosed that, in the past three months, the CBN has also redeemed outstanding forward liabilities amounting to almost USD 2 billion.
She noted that this underscores the bank’s commitment to the resolution of pending obligations and a functional foreign exchange market.
According to her, these payments signify the CBN’s ongoing efforts to settle all remaining valid forward transactions, with the aim of alleviating the current pressure on the country’s exchange rate.
She added that is anticipated that this initiative by the CBN should provide a considerable boost to the Naira against other major world currencies and further increase investor confidence in the Nigeria economy.
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) had last year lamented that foreign airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria have risen to over 743.7 million dollars.
In a letter to the then Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, IATA had said that the increasing backlog of international airlines’ blocked funds in Nigeria is a potential threat to foreign direct investment into the country and could affect the operations of airlines leading to job losses.
