New Telegraph

MAN to CBN: Extend Naira4Dollar scheme to non-oil exporters

Manufacturers Association of Nigeria MAN

The Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the Naira4Dollar scheme to other sources of foreign inflows, especially export proceeds into the country. The Director-General of MAN, Segun Ajayi-Kadir, who made the appeal in a chat in Lagos, said that the extension of the Naira4Dollar scheme was necessary and crucial to the country’s non-oil export. According to him, the scheme is valid for two months through May 8, 2020, and re-cipients would get N5 for every dollar of their proceeds as an incentive, in addition to their original remittance proceeds.

The MAN DG explained that the need for the extension of the Naira4Dollar scheme to the country’s non-oil export sector was meant to boost exporters efforts considering that the sector is strategic to driving growth in year 2021. He said that the association expected output growth and recovery in the country’s economy to gain momentum from this second quarter of 2021 as a result of steady progress in vaccine deployment across the nation, sustained policy support in the real economy and low base effect arising from Q2’20’s steep contraction. So the extension of Naira4Dollar scheme is ace in achieving this robust development.

“We acknowledge the efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria towards boosting dollar inflows into the Nigeria economy through the Naira4Dollar scheme. The scheme is valid for two months through May 8, 2020, and recipients would get N5 for every dollar of their proceeds as an incentive, in addition to their original remittance proceeds. In our view, the scheme is designed to complement the bank’s recent remittance policy that mandates international money transfer operators (IMTOs) to pay beneficiaries in foreign exchange.

This bodes well for foreign inflows which consequently should support accretion to external reserves. However, MAN wants this privilege to be extended to other sources of foreign inflows especially export proceeds,” Ajayi-Kadir stated. On what CBN would do, the director-general said: “I believe that CBN will work with the IMTOs and the deposit money banks to deal with the remittance infrastructure challenges, as well as the cost. “In the face of it, the scheme should encourage Nigerians working abroad to remit more into Nigeria and thereby improve the forex inflow.

“However, we need to dimension the inflows, which have historically been 70 per cent for family support and 30 per cent for other purposes, including real estate, which carries the greater part.” In order to yield more of the anticipated inflow for investment in productive activities, Ajayi-Kadir explained that CBN would have to work with the banks and other relevant government agencies to initiate portfolios and measures to point the remitters in that direction.

He said: “Having said that, there is also the need to consider where the domestic foreign exchange earners stand within the context of this scheme. “For instance, could a manufacturer, who exports his product and repatriates his dollar profit, get his money in dollars and also benefit from the Dollar4Naira scheme?

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