Nigeria Mulls Withdrawals Limit From Naira Account Abroad

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is said to be planning to reduce to a certain limit what Nigerians can withdraw from their local currency accounts when they go abroad as it battles market speculation against the naira.

A Deputy Governor at the apex bank, Sarah Alade was quoted to have said that the measure may be implemented “very soon”, because of the growing speculation against the naira.

The new limit will not apply to foreign-exchange accounts, she said. Naira account holders can currently withdraw as much as $150,000 abroad each year, Ibrahim Mu’azu, a spokesman for the central bank, said in a separate phone interview from Abuja.

Last month, Central Bank of Nigeria Governor Godwin Emefiele said the regulator won’t introduce capital controls. Nigeria, which derives 90 per cent of export earnings and two-third of government revenue from oil, has been hammered by a 47 per cent plunge in Brent Crude prices since June.

The naira has weakened 18 per cent against the dollar in that period, more than any of the 24 African currencies tracked by Bloomberg.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index has also fallen 18 per cent. The central bank has been trying to bolster the currency since last year by limiting foreign-exchange trading and selling down its foreign reserves.

They stood at $29.6 billion on April 9, according to CBN data. That’s the lowest in at least a decade, according to HSBC Holdings Plc.