The Federal Government has introduced a new policy allowing Nigerians to deposit dollar bills held outside the formal banking system without facing scrutiny or penalties.
This initiative, announced on Thursday following the National Economic Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, provides a nine-month window for individuals to bring foreign currency into the formal banking sector.
Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, shared details of the policy, stating, “There will be no penalty; there will be no taxes, and there will be no questions.”
The program, which launched on October 31, allows Nigerians to deposit dollar cash into their bank accounts without incurring any repercussions, provided the funds are not from illicit sources.
“They just meet the normal ‘Know Your Customer’ criteria of banks and have an opportunity to bring in those funds, make them safe, make them secure, and make them available through normal economic activity,” Edun emphasized.
The Minister added that the initiative, coordinated by the Ministry of Finance in partnership with the Central Bank, seeks to bring funds stored outside the banking system into safer, legally protected avenues.
He noted, “It is unsafe, it is unsecure and it is outside of legal limits… It is to bring dollars that they are holding outside the system to be able to bring them in and credit it to their bank accounts, as long as it is not proceeds of crime, illicit money.”
In addition, Edun highlighted that the government has successfully extended federal social protection programs to 25 million Nigerians. These initiatives include digital outreach, microenterprise loans, and targeted support for key sectors such as power, agriculture, manufacturing, health, and compressed natural gas.
