CBN denies authourising reduced forex rate for Muslim pilgrims alone

The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has denied reports that Muslims pilgrims were granted reduced foreign exchange rate for the 2016 pilgrimage.In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by the bank’s acting Director of Communications, Isaac Okorafor, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said there was no preferential exchange rate of any sort to intending pilgrims. He said laid down procedure was followed in arriving at the exchange rate for the pilgrims.

He said; “What is obtainable is that every year, prior to the commencement of the pilgrimage, the commission, both Christian and Muslims, approach the CBN to agree on the exchange rate for the personal travel allowance (PTA) for that particular year.In this case it’s between 750 dollars and 1,000 dollars per pilgrim,”

He said the agreement to sell foreign exchange to the pilgrims at the rate of N197 to the dollar was reached since April 2016 at the prevailing rate then. Stating both Muslim pilgrims and Christians are beneficiaries.