CBN’s floating of naira illegal – Femi Falana

Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), says the floating of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria is illegal.

Falana who was speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels TV programme, said he had sued the CBN as a result of this.

According to him, it is the duty of the apex bank to determine the currency rate in the country.

“From a legal perspective, I have had to sue the central bank of Nigeria because section 16 of the CBN act has imposed a duty on the central bank to determine the currency rate of Nigeria vis-a-vis other currencies,” he said.

“So, there is no provision for floating the naira. It is illegal.

Speaking on plans by the FG to provide N5bn palliatives for each state and the Federal Capital Territory, Falana said this wouldn’t amount to much due to the “dollarisation” of the country.

“The measures by the government are temporary. Some of them are quite diversionary,” he said.

“The people in government have not addressed the root of the crisis which is the dollarisation of the economy.

“Whatever palliatives that are announced would be eaten up by the dollarisation of the economy, and we are not in control.

“As long as these guys in the government are not prepared to strengthen the naira, to make the naira the only legal tender in Nigeria, we are not going to go far.

“Section 20 (1) of the CBN Act provides that the currency notes issued by the CBN are only the naira.

“Section 20(5), anybody who spends any other currency in Nigeria without the approval of the CBN has committed an offence and shall be prosecuted. The penalty is six months imprisonment.

“Why does the Nigerian government allow for properties to be sold in dollars, rents to be collected in dollars, some school fees to be paid in dollars and everybody looking for dollars?

“Even to pray weekly in Jerusalem and Mecca you need to pay in dollars. There is so much pressure on the dollar.”