The Central Bank of
Nigeria, CBN, has refuted claims by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that it assisted the wife of the President, Aisha Buhari in forex trading.
The apex bank appealed to politicians to allow it concentrate on its work and avoid dragging it into mudslinging attempts for whatever gain.
Denying the accusation, the spokesperson of CBN, Isaac Okoroafor while speaking with Vanguard, said the claim was, “not only ridiculous but laughable.”
Okoroafor said, “It was very laughable to say that the CBN sold forex to anyone at N185/$1. The records are there for anyone who is interested to crosscheck. The CBN has not sold the dollar at N185 in recent times. The movement of the exchange rate was N155/$1; N168/ $1; and from there to the current rate of N197/$1.”
Noting that the reputation of the apex bank is paramount to the nation’s economy, Okoroafor urged politicians to avoid whatever would impact negatively on the reputation of the CBN.
He said, “Politicians should spare this institution from deliberate falsehood because if they destroy the reputation of the institution, the economy suffers. Politicians should please allow us to do our job in the interest of the economy.”
Okoroafor affirmed that the CBN does not sell foreign exchange to individuals or companies rather it sells to banks which sell to their customers in turn.
He said: “With every sense of responsibility, it is important to state that the Central Bank does not sell forex to individuals nor companies. You are aware that we sell forex to banks which in turn sell to their customers. For anyone to say that the CBN sells forex to individuals or some companies is, indeed, very ridiculous and mischievous.
The opposition party had on Friday through its twitter handle @pdpNigeria alleged that Aisha Buhari and her unnamed company had been involved in buying about $22 million from the CBN at the official rates and selling same at the black market.
Okoroafor further called on Nigerians to disregard the falsehood being represented on the social media.