Federal Government through Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has on Friday said it will shut down the operations of ‘Aboki FX’ over publication of exchange rate.
‘Aboki FX’ is a website that provides currency exchange information, which the apex bank has described as an illegal platform.
Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, who disclosed this while fielding questions after the Monetary policy committee’s two-day meeting in Abuja on Friday, disclosing plans to arrest and prosecute the owner of the platform, Olusegun Oniwinde.
Emefiele accused Oniwinde of sabotaging Nigeria’s economy, vowing that Nigerian government would collaborate with other security agencies to track him down.
He said;
I have given instructions to our experts to go after his website and let it be clear that we will go after him because we can’t allow this to continue.
There was a particular time I asked our colleagues to find the so-called owner of ‘Aboxi FX’ that we want to engage him to understand his module, his basis and how he came about advertising those rates.
We find him as a Nigerian who lives in England and conducts this nefarious and criminal activity on our economy. It is an economic sabotage and we will pursue him. Where ever he is, we will report him to international security agencies. Mr Oniwinde, we will find you!
According to Emefiele, the CBN doesn’t recognize any forex market window besides the Investors and Exporters window.
On ban of forex sales to Bureau de Change operators, Emefiele said that the bank will not go back on its previous stance.
The CBN boss decried the security challenges in the country, lamenting that Bureau de Change operators were encouraging kidnapping, banditry and terrorism though the sale of FOREX.
He, however, noted that the apex bank will not continue to sell FOREX to people who purchase arms to hurt Nigerians.
According to Emefiele, the financial markets regulator is determined to eliminate the activities of illegal FOREX traders.
Speaking further, the CBN boss restated that the apex bank is the only national bank in the world that will dip its hand in the country’s reserve to sell foreign exchange to Bureau de Change operators in the market.
Emefiele expressed;
Nobody ever mentions the rate of Bureau de Change in the city of London. It really beats my imagination that Nigeria carried on with this kind of practice that tended to support illegal activities of people who are involved in graft and corrupt practices.
We have supported the activities of those who illegally buy foreign exchange from this illegal market, carry them in aircraft out of the country and go to buy arms and ammunition and bring them into the country to commit crimes.
We, the Central Bank, take our country’s dollars and sell to people to buy arms and ammunition to come and hurt us. That is what we are saying that people want us to do, we cannot do that any longer.
Checks by our correspondent showed that the website, Aboki FX, is still up as of the time of filing this report.
Naira-dollar exchange rate has soared on the platform in the last couple of days. The platform currently recommends that Bureau de Change operators buy dollar at N560 and sell at N570.
