The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that sugar and wheat will go into its foreign exchange restriction list.
The announcement, made on Twitter, also called for Nigerians to work together to produce sugar and wheat rather than import them.
The announcement comes a day after the National Bureau for Statistics (NBS) announced a 22.95 percent food inflation. The ban on sugar and wheat will see an increase in the cost of bread.
The Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, in a video on social media earlier on Friday that the country is confronted with the problem of inflation and prices.
While speaking at the transition committee stakeholders engagement last week, Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, had accused the government of printing N60 billion to distribute as Federation Allocation Committee (FAAC) in March.
Responding on Twitter on Friday, CBN tweeted: “The concept of printing of money is about lending money and that is our job…It will be irresponsible for the CBN or any Central Bank or Fed to stand idle and refuse to support its government at a time like this.”
The banning of sugar and wheat with the hope to increase local production is similar to the banning of the importation of rice, which led to an increase in the price of the staple across the country.
Subscribe
Be the first to receive special investigative reports and features in your inbox.