A Senior Advicate of Nigeria and human rights lawyer Femi Falana, has described the floating of the naira by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as illegal.

The CBN had instructed Deposit Money Banks to allow the naira to float freely against international currencies, collapsing all transactions to importer and exporter window. As such, the value of naira against foreign currencies is determined by market forces.

Consequently, the exchange rate hitherto fixed at around N460/$ now hovers around N700-N800/$.

Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Falana kicked against the apex bank’s decision to float naira, saying it contradicted the CBN Act.

He said, “There’s no provision for floating the naira. It’s illegal. You say, ‘The value of the naira will be determined by market forces. That is not there in the law.

“I’ve had to sue the Central Bank of Nigeria at the Federal High Court because Section 16 of the Central Bank Act has imposed a duty on the Central Bank to fix and determine the rate of the naira vis-a-vis other currency.”

Falana noted that Section 20(1) of the CBN Act stated that the official legal tender in Nigeria is solely the currency notes issued by the Central Bank, specifically the naira.

He added that Section 20(5) of the Act stipulated that anyone who uses any other currency in Nigeria without the approval of the central bank committed an offence punishable by six months’ imprisonment.

Falana said until government officials took steps to strengthen the naira and make it the only legal tender in Nigeria, the country’s progress would be limited.