The Nigerian Senate, on Tuesday, passed a bill for its first reading to prohibit the use of foreign currencies for payments and transactions within the country.
Sponsored by Senator Ned Nwoko, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Reparations and Repatriation, the proposed legislation seeks to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, to ensure that all payments, including salaries and transactions, are conducted in naira.
Titled “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, No. 7, to Prohibit the Use of Foreign Currencies for Remuneration and for Other Related Matters,” the bill aims to strengthen confidence in the naira and eliminate discriminatory practices in Nigeria’s financial system.
Senator Nwoko described the widespread use of foreign currencies, such as the dollar and Pound Sterling, for domestic transactions as a colonial relic that undermines the naira’s value and perpetuates economic instability.
The bill proposes that all salaries, including those of expatriates, must be paid in naira.
Additionally, crude oil and other exports would be sold exclusively in naira, compelling international buyers to purchase the local currency to drive its demand and value.
Nwoko argued that the legislation would abolish informal currency markets, reduce unethical practices like round-tripping by banks, and reposition the naira as the central currency for all financial transactions.