EFCC Counters US, other Foreign Mission Transacting in FDollars, Demands Compliance

The EFCC has taken  a step further abroad in its effort to tackle financial malpractices damaging the naira.

And embassies in Nigeria—and foreign missions abroad—have come under the commission scrutiny this time.

The commission has petitioned the ministry of foreign affairs to halt the practice of embassies dollarising their transactions in Nigeria.

“This practice is an aberration and unlawful as it conflicts with extant laws and financial regulations in Nigeria,” the petition dated April 5 stated.

“Section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 makes currencies issued by the apex bank the only legal tender in Nigeria.”

The US and other foreign missions in Nigeria have their own forex exchange rates and currency—mostly dollars—when charging Nigerians processing visas and others.

And the commission believes this practice is among the reasons for the pressure piling up on the naira.

“This trend can no longer be tolerated, especially in a volatile economic environment where the country’s macroeconomic policies are constantly under attack by all manner of state and non-state actors,” the commission stated.

The naira currently trades against the dollar within the band of N1400/$, up from about N1800/$ at some points months ago.

The Central Bank of Nigeria’s effort to stabilize the currency has confronted a number of challenges, including peer-to-peer betting on crypto platforms, round tripping in banks and bureaux de change.

In spite of the EFCC sting operations and countermeasures against all these, the naira has been tanking.

The commission said the foreign missions’ refusal to comply with the CBN act constitutes illegality and an attack on Nigeria’s sovereignty.

The letter urged the minister to convey  the commission’s displeasure to all missions in Nigeria, and restate Nigeria’s desire for their operations follow the laws and regulations in the country.

Since the commission’s Chairman Ola Olukayode sent the letters, Foreign Affairas Minister Yusuff Tugar affairs have not issued any public response.