CBN releases $265m of airlines trapped funds

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has released the sum of $265 million to airlines operating in the country, to settle outstanding ticket sales.

The release of the money on Friday, part of the over $600 million trapped with the apex bank, is in apparent move to check the crisis the withheld funds have created in Nigeria’s aviation sector.

A breakdown of the figure indicates that the sum of $230 million was released as special FX intervention while another sum of $35 million was released through Retail SMIS (Secondary Market Intervention Sales) auction.

Confirming the release, the CBN Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Osita Nwanisobi, said that the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and his team were concerned about the development and its effects on the sector, travellers, as well as, the country in the comity of nations.

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Nwanisobi reiterated that the CBN was not against any company repatriating its funds from the country, adding that what the bank stood for was an orderly exit for those that might be interested in doing so.

With the release of the funds, it is expected that operators and travellers would heave huge sighs of relief.

Some airlines have relocated their operations from Nigeria to Ghana, while some others have threatened to withdraw their services, following unremitted funds for outstanding sale of tickets in the country.