Africa Business Radio

The Central Bank of Nigeria says that it recorded a significant reduction in the volume and cost of foreign exchange procurement in 2020, the year of COVID when the entire world was on lockdown and businesses closed. The bank says a total of $1.83 billion was procured over the period, representing a decline of $2.12 billion or 53.67 per cent compared to the $3.95 billion procured in 2019. The annual report by the apex bank’s Currency Operations Department shows that the CBN also slashed its expenditure on currency printing from N75.52 billion in 2019 to N58.61 billion in 2020. The central bank explained that this was used to fund Bureaux De Change operations, payment of estacode and Personal Travel Allowances to Ministries, Departments and Agencies.