The House of Representatives, has resolved to invite Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso over issues relating to the recent lifting of forex restrictions on 43 items.
The House has however urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to engage with other stakeholders within the fiscal economic system on the recent decision to lift, and also to develop a system that will engender professional conduct by all key players in the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market, to guarantee market forces determine exchange rates on a Willing Buyer-Willing Seller Principle.
The House in the resolution on Tuesday, further urged the CBN to desist from market suppression tendencies with regards to I & E Window.
A member, Hon. Sada Soli, had in a motion that the CBN imposed the restrictions in June 2015 to conserve the foreign exchange reserves and promote local production of certain goods, including about 11 food items.
“On October 12, 2023, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced, among other issues, the lift on FOREX restrictions hitherto placed on 43 items”, the lawmaker recalled, adding that some of the items have tariffs to protect local industries, as they are part of the imports prohibition list.
According to him, the decision of the CBN will greatly affect local production of items such as rice, cement, and palm oil among others, as it will force local manufacturers to hold the short end of the stick, invariably leading to factory closure and ultimately eroding our capacity to build the country’s local economy.
He said, “almost all the 43 items are from two critical sectors which have been identified by all policy documents from NEEDS, SEEDS to Vision 2022 as being areas that are critical to economic diversification. Some of the listed items enjoy 60%-70% subsidy from their countries of origin, thus putting Nigeria’s local products at a comparative disadvantage and without any protection, and will lead to job losses and social exclusion”.
