Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been awarded the Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR) national accolade.
Emefiele has been the leader of Nigeria’s top bank for nine years, and this accolade comes as he nears the end of his term.
Along with 340 other distinguished Nigerians, Emefiele received the distinction from President Muhammadu Buhari during a ceremony held at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, according to ThisDay reports.
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A recent research revealed that since Emefiele took office in 2014, the banking system has stabilised and there have been fewer failing banks.
Nevertheless, some of the CBN governor’s policies and choices have drawn harsh criticism.
One of these is the redesign of the naira, which led to considerable hardship. Several other exchange rate policies were also attempted, but the value of the naira was not improved.
Here is the list of Godwin Emefiele forex policies;
- Restriction on Importers: On June 23, 2015, the CBN implemented a restriction that prevented importers of 41 items (later increased to 44 items) from accessing foreign exchange (FX).
- Limit on Naira-Denominated Cards Abroad: In 2015, the CBN introduced an FX policy that limited the usage of naira-denominated cards abroad to $300.0 per person per day. Recently, some banks reduced this limit to $20 or suspended using these cards for international spending.
- Elimination of Commission on Retail FX Transactions: In 2019, the CBN eliminated commission charges on retail FX transactions related to invisible services like business travel allowance, personal travel allowance, medical expenses, and school fees.
- Selling Rate and Intervention Frequency: The CBN decreased the selling rate of FX to Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators and increased the frequency of interventions in other windows to enhance access and availability of FX for end-users.
- Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement: On April 27, 2018, the CBN signed a three-year bilateral currency swap agreement worth $2.5 billion with the Peoples Bank of China. This agreement aimed to reduce FX demand pressure and facilitate investment.
- Post-No-Debit Status: In September 2020, the CBN mandated lenders to place a Post-No-Debit status on the accounts of entities participating in the parallel market.
- Discontinuation of FX Sale to BDC Operators: In July 2021, the CBN discontinued the sale of foreign currencies to BDC operators in Nigeria. Additionally, they suspended the applications for and issuance of new licenses for BDC operations.
READ ALSO: Politicians are behind call for CBN governor’s arrest – CAN
Breaking: CBN extend deadline for swapping old Naira notes to February 10
In another news, Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, has announced an extension till February 10th before phasing out the old Naira notes.
The Punch reported that the apex bank added a 10 days grace period, thus shifting the deadline from January 31st to February 10th, 2023.
