The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has ordered that Nigerian local currency be the sole legal tender for transactions in foreign embassies in Nigeria.
It also banned the use of the dollar for commercial transactions and for payment for other services at the country’s foreign missions.
This was revealed in a letter dated April 5, 2024, addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, and his Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
According to the anti-graft agency, Nigerian foreign missions abroad have also been asked to accept the naira in their financial activities.
The commission noted that these guidelines would help combat dollarization of the Nigerian economy and depreciation of the naira.
In the letter, the Chairman of the EFCC, Ola Olukoyede, further expressed displeasure over the charging of consular services in Nigeria by foreign missions in dollars.
Olukoyede said: “I offer you the compliments of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and wish to inform you of the commission’s observation, with dismay, regarding the unhealthy practice of some foreign missions of charging Nigerians and foreigners for consular services. other foreign nationals in the country in US dollars.
“This practice is an aberration and illegal because it is in contradiction with the financial laws and regulations in force in Nigeria. Section 20(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 makes currencies issued by the apex bank the sole legal tender in Nigeria.
“It states that “bank notes issued by the Bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria on face value for the payment of any amount.”
“This presupposes that any transaction in any currency other than the naira, anywhere in Nigeria, contravenes the law and is therefore illegal.”
