Is NASS Considering Adoption of Yuan as Official Foreign Exchange in Nigeria?

The 10th House of Representative member, Honorable Jaforu Leko, representing Bogoro/Dass/Tafawa Balewa Federal Constituency of Bauchi State, tenders before the Senate, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu a prayer to adopt the Yuan currency as an official foreign exchange currency in Nigeria.

However, looking back on the China-Nigeria Monetary Relation, findings show that said prayer was adopted in 2018 after the price fall of the oil and gas crisis impact of 2015. In the currency adoption, 15 billion Yuan renminbi ($2.36 billion) were included in Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves to allow the free flow of yuan exchange in the trading market. The purpose of the adoption in 2018 was to curb the fall of the Naira while strengthening its rates on the global market, which over time hasn’t solved the problem of the Naira, especially on the need to increase nations’ production line that generates revenue and boost the economy rather than outsourcing through importation.

The presiding officer, Senate President Benjamin Kalu, points out that the motion raised by Honorable Jaforu Leko was addressing the re-adoption of the yuan, which has already been in place since 2018. While the deputy speaker advised the motion to be revisited, he recommended the representative seek an amendment of the prayer to speed the process so that the adoption could be more effective.

It is worth noting that Nigeria converted up to a tenth of its reserves into yuan five years ago.

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Mayowa Durosinmi

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M. Durosinmi is a West Africa Weekly investigative reporter covering Politics, Human Rights, Health, and Security in West Africa and the Sahel Region

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