Forex: List companies benefitting or face legal action, TUC tells CBN
Joy Obakeye
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make public the list of companies applying for foreign exchange or face legal action.
The TUC in a statement said that most of the beneficiaries on the CBN’s list are moribund companies who benefit through what it called ‘man-know-man’ connection and resell to genuine companies.
“The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) challenges the CBN to make public the list of companies applying for forex if its report as published in the dailies on the subject matter is anything to go by. It is disheartening to read the apex bank say it is going to reduce its forex to companies at this time. The question is, why punish functional companies?
“As a stakeholder, we know there is a problem somewhere which the CBN cannot deny. There are many companies that have closed shop but have become dollar agents, using their man-know-man connection to access forex, only to re-sell.
“These fictitious companies have to be removed from the list so the active ones can manage the little forex that is available. The list has to be released by the CBN else we may be left with no option than to go to court.”
The labour body asked the apex bank to exercise caution in the implementation of its policies, pointing out that stakeholders must be adequately considered while taking a critical decision on the economy as such unilateral decisions are capable of crippling economic activities.
“If we import milk worth $1.2 billion yearly as claimed by the Ministry of Agriculture, what effort is the country making to reduce or probably end importation of dairies foods in the nearest future?
“That is exactly how the civilised countries got to where they are today, not by mere rhetorics.
We wish our policymakers manage their private businesses the same way they manage the nation’s economy! If we cannot plan to address our deficit in the shortest time possible then there is a problem.”
