Atedo Peterside, Former Stanbic IBTC Bank Chairman, Applauds CBN's Policy on 43 Banned Items
- The former Chairman of Stanbic IBTC, Atedo Peterside, said the Central Bank of Nigeria did the right thing to lift the Forex ban on 43 items
- Peterside revealed on social media that the ban was responsible for the wide gap in the foreign exchange market
- He said the apex bank attacked the problem at the source as that would ease the naira's fall
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Former Stanbic IBTC Chairman, Atedo Peterside, has said the Central Bank of Nigeria's (CBN) decision to end the Forex ban on 43 items in Nigeria was right.
In a post via his X (formerly Twitter) page, Peterside argued that the exclusion widened the gap between the parallel and official market rates.
Source: UGC
Peterside thumbs up the CBN
He said:
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"Attacking a problem at the source: @cenbank is right (See Circular) to discourage the use of FX policy as a determinant of which importer achieves what margin of profitability. That is the role of levies & tariffs. FX market exclusions only fuel the parallel market & widen arbitrage."
In a statement issued on Thursday, October 12, 2023, the CBN announced that importers of the previously banned 43 items can access foreign exchange at the official market.
The ban was responsible for high inflation
Analysts believed that the restriction on the banned items affected the value of the local currency and caused inflation in the country.
Specifically, they pointed to high food inflation, which is driving the overall inflation in the country.
Journalist and policy analyst, Ishaya Ibrahim, told Legit.ng that the move by the CBN would reduce the pressure on the parallel market.
He stated that despite the seeming scarcity of Forex, the importers can now sigh a sigh of relief.
Analysts say the move is a breath of fresh air
He refuted the claim that Forex is highly scarce, saying it is available but might be increased.
"The question is not whether Forex is available. The question is, at what cost can the importers access them?"
He stressed that the apex bank may have caved into public pressure to lift the ban as only a few months ago, the bank insisted that the ban remains in place.
"This government is still experimenting, and I believe they might have gotten it right now," Ibrahim said.
The naira falls at the parallel market.
The Legit.ng, in a previous report, listed the affected 43 items banned from accessing Forex but are now eligible in the official window.
Meanwhile, data shows that the naira took a hit at the parallel market, exchanging for N1,049 per dollar, but appreciated in the official Importers and Exporters window, trading at N759 per dollar as of Friday, October 13, 2023.
After 8 years, CBN finally lifts ban on 43 restricted items in Nigeria
Legit.ng earlier reported that the limitations on foreign exchange imposed by the CBN on importers of 43 commodities eight years ago have finally been abolished.
This was contained in a statement signed by Dr. Isa AbdulMumin, the bank's director of corporate communications.
The development followed an earlier report by Legit.ng that the CBN clarified foreign exchange (FX) access for importers of 43 items previously restricted from obtaining FX through the official window.
Source: Legit.ng
