SAN FRANCISCO, April 01, (THEWILL) – The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Friday maintained that banks in the country have enough stock of foreign exchange, forex, in their possession to foot genuine demand of customers for BTA, PTA, tuition and medical fees.
This was as it dismissed as false claims by some Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, that enough forex is not being allocated to them for BTA, PTA, Tuition and Medical fees.
Some Nigerians seeking to buy forex for BTA, PTA, medical and school fees have been grumbling in recent times, stating that they are being frustrated by some banks who claim not to have enough forex to meet their demand for the United States dollar.
But dismissing this claim as untrue, CBN’s acting Director of Communication, Isaac Okorafor said in a statement that:”All banks have more than enough stock of forex in their possession for the purpose of meeting genuine customers’ demand for BTA, PTA, tuition and medical fees. Indeed, on a weekly basis, the CBN has been selling at least $80m to banks for onward sale to their customers for these invisible items.
“Members of the public seeking to buy forex for the above-mentioned purposes are, therefore, advised to go to their banks and obtain their forex. Any customer who is not attended to within 24 hours for BTA/PTA or 48 hours for tuition and medical fees should call 07002255226 or send an email to cpd@cbn.gov.ng, with the name and branch of the non-cooperating bank.
“Furthermore, no customer should accept to buy forex from any bank at more than the currently prescribed rate of N360/$1,” the statement warned.
