Forex Crisis: CBN Debunks Plan To Convert $30bn Deposits To Naira

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has denied any plan to convert the $30billion deposits in domiciliary bank accounts to the local currency in order to save Naira from free fall against the United States Dollar.

A national newspaper (not LEADERSHIP) had earlier reported on Saturday that there were strong indications that the Federal Government was mulling a policy that will result in the conversion of foreign currencies in domiciliary accounts of citizens to Naira to stabilise the national currency, which earlier this week recorded its worst performance in history.

The report said if it goes ahead with the plan, the government will order the conversion of foreign currencies sitting idly in individual and corporate organisations’ domiciliary accounts to naira at a rate to be determined by the CBN.

Citing unnamed ‘top Presidency sources’, it wrote that the move was meant to stabilise the naira, which recorded its biggest fall in the official Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market on Monday, depreciating by 24 per cent to close at N1,348 per dollar.

But, the apex bank said it has no plan to take such measure, outrightly dismissing the report as fake news.

Taking to its verified X handle (formerly Twitter) on Saturday to react to the report, the CBN wrote: “No plans to convert $30bn domiciliary deposits to naira. This news is fake.”