$22 million round tripping: CBN debunks allegation against Aisha Buhari

The Central Bank of Nigeria has described as baseless and falsehood the allegation by the Peoples Democratic Party that the first lady, Aisha Buhari through a company belonging to her had been involved in buying about $22 million from the apex at the official rates and selling same at the black market.

Spokesperson for the apex bank, Isaack Okoroafor said politicians should spare the CBN from deliberate falsehood because if the reputation of the apex bank is destroyed, the economy would also suffer.

He said the allegation that the first lady was involved in round tripping of foreign exchange was not only ridiculous but also laughable. According to the spokesman, the Central Bank does not sell foreign exchange to individuals or companies. Instead, it sells to banks which sell to their customers.

He said: “With every sense of responsibility, it is important to state that the Central Bank does not sell forex to individuals nor companies. You are aware that we sell forex to banks which in turn sell to their customers. For anyone to say that the CBN sells forex to individuals or some companies is, indeed, very ridiculous and mischievous

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“It was very laughable to say that the CBN sold forex to anyone at N185/$1. The records are there for anyone who is interested to crosscheck. The CBN has not sold the dollar at N185 in recent times. The movement of the exchange rate was N155/$1; N168/ $1; and from there to the current rate of N197/$1.”

Meanwhile the first lady, Aisha Buhari has denied the allegation. In her twitter handle, she said: “Be advised, any further attempt to malign the person of the wife of the President will be dealt with according to the law. This is grounds for a lawsuit on defamation of character.

The PDP, at its twitter handle, had alleged that Aisha Buhari and her unnamed company had been involved in buying about $22 million from the CBN at the official rates and selling same at the black market.