CBN denies report it plans to convert $30b domiciliary savings of Nigerians for FX transactions  

The Federal Government, on Saturday, said the report that it plans to convert the $30 billion foreign exchange in depositors’ domiciliary accounts to Naira, was an act of economic sabotage.

Recall that a newspaper reported that the Federal Government has concluded plans to convert foreign exchange in domiciliary accounts to the depreciating local currency.

But the CBN on Saturday debunked the reports as ‘fake content’ on its official X page.

It said: “No plans to convert $30bn domiciliary deposits to naira. This news is fake!”

However, to underscore how serious the government takes the denial, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, weighed in with his own press statement after the CBN tweet, saying such reports were false and misleading.

He vowed the Federal Government will take up the “breach” in due course.

According to Edun: “There is no iota of truth in the claims of Punch Newspaper that the Federal Government plans to convert foreign exchange in depositors’ domiciliary accounts to naira.

“The publication of such falsehood at a time when the government is working to restore economic stability and confidence in the national currency is tantamount to economic sabotage.

“This report in the Punch Newspaper violates the standards of responsible journalism and it is a breach which will no doubt be taken up by the appropriate authorities in due course.

“For the avoidance of doubt, I emphasize that depositors’ foreign currency in their domiciliary accounts will not be converted to naira.”

But many Nigerians who reacted to the CBN tweet would rather believe the story than trust the Federal Government, an indication of the prevailing level of trust deficit.

Anti-Agbado! @Oserume1 wrote, “Same way Tinubu said Muslim-Muslim ticket is fake news…”

Voltage 🇦🇹 @Chinonxo said, “Anything you people call fake is true.”

Ike God @IkeGod_ wrote, “Don’t say you weren’t warned👇”

Aвđΰℓmumin @a_lmumin said, “Cbn denied after seeing the reaction from the survey.”

Onwe Arinze BTC @CryptoStarterTV wrote: “I’m pretty sure you carried that idea for a while. My advice: focus on economic growth and the naira will naturally appreciate. You can’t induce volatility in the market when the naira is falling and expect it to stop. Stop the useless propaganda and start policies that may help the naira: make Bitcoin a legal tender.”

That Naija Guy™ @IamThatNaijaGuy said, “Let’s see how long they keep it. We will come back to this when it materializes. It’s seems Nigerians don’t learn from the past. Anything APC govt denies is real.”

Sadiq @Ensadique wrote: “Here’s a sign to know that it’s definitely happening. Don’t be caught unawares. I’m not taking any chances.”