The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has granted airline operators in the country a special foreign exchange (Forex) concession regime to enable clearance of outstanding debts at inter-bank market rate.
The CBN, in a memo, listed airline operators along with sectors that deal with raw materials and machineries for manufacturing companies and agricultural chemicals as some of the beneficiaries of the intervention.
Minister of State for Aviation, Hadi Sirika and the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) have commended the initiative, saying it is in the best interest of the sector.
The CBN stated in the circular that: “In order to further engender market confidence, ensure access to FX by end users and sustain the integrity of the Nigerian Inter-bank FX market, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has resolved to intervene in the Inter-bank FX market through forward settlement.
“This is an important one-off exercise dedicated to the clearance of the backlog of matured FX obligations for raw materials and machineries for manufacturing companies, agricultural chemicals and airlines.”