Senate In Talks With CBN On Offshore Banking Licence

The Senate Committee on Trade, Industry and Investment has promised to ensure that the Central Bank of Nigeria grants the permit for the establishment of offshore banks to free trade zone operators and businesses.

The committee said the banks would enable operators to have unrestricted access to foreign exchange.

According to a statement on Sunday by the Nigerian Export Processing Zone Authority, the Chairman of the committee, Francis Fadahunsi, disclosed this while the committee members rounded off their four-day oversight tour of the trade zones on Thursday in Lagos.

The statement, which was issued by the Head, Corporate Communications of NEPZA, Martins Odeh, was titled, ‘Senate describes Lekki free zone Quadrant, Eko Atlantic as national assets.’

The statement read in part, “On the prevention of zones’ operators from accessing foreign exchange, Fadahunsi promised that the National Assembly would ensure that the Central Bank of Nigeria granted the permit for the establishment of offshore banking for them to access forex without inhibition.

“He said continuously denying zone operators and their businesses to access forex was inimical to the desire of government to use the zone scheme to industrialise the country.”