There is a popular saying that when a person presents a case with an appealing story, the individual should not forget that he will not be the one to judge the case.
It is indeed easy to make a claim, but evidence is also very important to back it.
Now, the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria are asking the Central Bank of Nigeria to provide for proof of payments of the trapped airline funds if it had cleared all backlog of forex deficit.
The foreign airlines whose backlog of FX, the Central Bank of Nigeria says the claim is not true.
They said the CBN should provide proof of payment if indeed the FX backlog has been cleared.
As a result, the President of the Association of Foreign Airlines and Representatives in Nigeria, (AFARN), Kingsley Nwokeoma, insists the CBN still owe the airlines.
“If they say they have cleared the trapped funds, they should show us figures. They should tell us how much has been cleared.
“The last I checked, the status quo remains the same,” Nwokeoma said.
NANTA Reacts To AFARN
However, a former President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Bankole Bernard, believes the trapped funds have been cleared.
Bankole said the remaining revenues of the airlines were with the commercial banks.
He insists that if they want to repatriate the remaining revenues, they will have to buy dollars. This the ywill have to do through the Investors and Exporters window.
In the past, foreign airlines would sell their tickets in Naira and go to the CBN to buy dollars and repatriate their earnings.
But President Bola Ahmed Tinubu directed that CBN should no more sell dollars.
As a result, everyone will have to go to the autonomous market to buy.
He insisted that the airline funds were domiciled with commercial banks.
Also Read: Just In: Cardoso Clears CBN FX Backlog As Promised
The backlog that CBN paid was the funds with CBN before the new policy was made.
“The Central bank has paid this money and does not owe foreign airlines any money.
“These airlines now have to settle with the commercial banks where they kept their monies,” the former NANTA President explained.
What CBN Is Saying
CBN is saying, we have cleared what is in our books. Whatever remains of the trapped airlind funds is with commercial banks, go and be clear with the commercial banks.
Meanwhile, Bankole noted that there has been relative stability in the exchange rate and that the airlines might choose to sell at this time, reiterating that their revenues are with the commercial banks.
