It is bad enough to ever be in a position where one borrows one’s money back, but for our Central Bank to have done so for so many years at rates of between 13 and 14 per cent, as admitted recently by Governor Lamido Sanusi, can at best be described as an unfortunate moral hazard, which may border on economic sabotage.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said that deposits from some government institutions are excluded from the reporting of public sector deposits in line with its circular to banks operating in the country.

In its support for the cashless initiative introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited has commenced a nationwide customer forum to intimate them on the benefit of the scheme.

Nigerians’ penchant for foreign goods has continued to put pressure on the nation’s external reserves and the exchange rate. In the last four months – April to August- a total of $14.95 billion left the shores of Nigeria as payments made by Central Bank of Nigeria on behalf of the public. Of this amount, cash sales to Bureaux de Change, where those who purchase foreign exchange in small quantity buy from, amounted to $2.2 billion while letters of credit for direct importation amounted to $157.5 million.

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN will resist pressure to devalue the naira since it retains ample funds to defend the currency, its spokesman, Ugochukwu Okoroafor has said.