Foreign Airlines operating in Nigeria have refuted claims by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that all outstanding forex claims have been settled.
The CBN on Wednesday announced that all outstanding forex amounting to $7million had been settled duly paid.
Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, the Acting Director, Corporate Communications of the CBN on Wednesday told journalists in Abuja that the apex bank hired independent auditors from Deloitte Consulting who meticulously assessed all outstanding transactions which resulted in ensuring that only legitimate claims were honoured.
She said that the CBN had concluded the payment of $1.5 billion to settle obligations to bank customers, effectively settling the residual balance of the FX backlog.
Earlier, the CBN Governor, Yemi Cardoso had announced that, “We made clearing the FX backlog a priority to restore credibility and confidence in the Nigerian economy
“It was important that we go through an independent and credible process that would determine the authenticity of those obligations, and, at this point, I can tell you that we have now cleared all genuine, verifiable transactions. This encumbrance to market confidence in the country’s ability to meet its obligations is now totally behind us.”
However, reacting to the claims of the CBN on Thursday, the President of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria (AFARN), Mr. Kingsley Nwokoma,told journalists in Abuja that close to $700 million belonging to foreign airlines was still trapped in Nigeria.
Challenging the CBN to show proof, Nwokoma said, “This statement is just like the same thing they said the last time.
“If they say they cleared all forex backlog, and which include the foreign airlines’ backlog, it’s easy, it’s just for them to show everyone evidence to see that the foreign airlines backlog has been paid.
“However, it’s still the same amount they paid.
“They paid twice and we all know that the foreign airlines are complaining that they are still being owed over $700 million
“If they say they have cleared it, then they should be transparent because transparency means showing how much they have paid to each sector, they should let us know.”