“It’s a bad policy” Falana Sues CBN over Floating of Naira, Weak Currency

Vanguard reports that the policy was announced at a time when the naira traded between 730 and 755 to the dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.

But, Falana described the decision of the CBN to float the naira as ‘illegal’ and being challenged in court.

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,” he said.

“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 added.

As of Friday, the CBN puts the exchange rate between N744 and N746.

The Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN said the CBN Act made it compulsory for the apex bank to fix the exchange rate.

He noted 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.”