The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has alleged that the foreign missions in Nigeria are violating dollar transaction regulations.
This was disclosed by Wilson Uwujaren, the Director of Public Affairs for the EFCC, during an interview on Channels Television.
Uwujaren stated that certain third-party agents working for foreign missions have been circumventing regulations by invoicing in dollars.
According to the PRO, the practice directly contravenes the directive previously issued by the EFCC, which bans foreign missions from conducting transactions in foreign currencies and mandates the exclusive use of the naira for financial transactions within Nigeria.
“The naira is the only legal tender in Nigeria, as stated in Section 20, Subsection 1 of the EFCC Act. This means that the naira is the only currency acceptable for transactions anywhere across the country.
“We found situations where third-party working for missions circumvent that regulation by invoicing in dollars. A number of them go to the extreme of determining the exchange value of the naira in their transactions.
“This is worrisome to us. So, we have to bring this to the Foreign Affairs Ministry. The government has the responsibility to rule the protocol and channel of communication to bring this observation to the attention of the foreign mission to advise them to ensure that their activities do not go against our laws.”