'Not IMF, World Bank, Market Forces' - Falana insists only CBN can determine exchange rate

Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria and lawyer in Lagos has denounced the federal government's plans to let market forces, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank determine Nigeria's foreign exchange rate through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

Falana stated that the CBN has the only authority to fix the currency rate while speaking during the opening session of the 2023 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Abuja.

Recall that the CBN on Wednesday, June 14, 2023, all forex transactions shall now be done through the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window, thereby abolishing the country's parallel and other forex markets.

Nigerian lawyer and human rights activist, had earlier condemned the decision of the CBN under the government of President Bola Tinubu, to float the naira according to Legit.ng report.

Mixed reaction followed naira float

President Bola Tinubu's decision to allow the naira, the country's currency, to float has drawn controversy.

While some people welcomed the decision, others criticised it, pointing out that the naira's floating as well as the elimination of fuel subsidies had substantially exacerbated the difficult economic circumstances that Nigerians are currently suffering.

Falana, according to report, stated that the CBN has the only authority to fix the currency rate.

“Section 16 of the CBN Act gives no room for market forces to fix the exchange rate. It is the CBN that shall determine…it is not for the IMF or World Bank or market forces to fix it.”

Falana advises Nigeria to strengthen trade with China

Falana advised the government to start trading in naira with nations like the People's Republic of China in order to help the country's dire economic predicament.

He maintained that the high demand for dollars, which placed a strain on Nigeria's economy, will drop, if not stop, if the roughly $22 billion import from China is conducted in naira.

The human rights campaigner urged the country's umbrella organisation of lawyers to concentrate on certain areas of the Tinubu administration in addition to the federal government in order to make sure that the government, and consequently the nation, gets it right this time around.

The nation's refineries are located in several branches of the NBA, and Falana specifically ordered them to start "monitoring" development at the refineries since the government has allocated $1.4 billion for the projects.

In a related development, Falana called for the monthly publication of information on the funds distributed among the federal, state, and local governments, pointing out that doing so would make it simple for citizens to track the money and to ask state executives pertinent questions.