Olukoyede threatened to prosecute anyone found engaging in the dollarisation of the economy. He emphasised that such actions would be treated as criminal offences in accordance with Nigerian laws.
Some international schools charging tuition in dollars and other foreign currencies have been placed under surveillance by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
This is said to be part of measures to reduce the pressure on the naira.
EFCC had issued a stern warning to establishments such as schools, supermarkets, hotels, and others, cautioning against the practice of charging for services in dollars or any foreign currency within the country.
Ola Olukoyede, EFCC’s Chairman announced this in the March edition of the commission’s monthly e-magazine, EFCC Alert.
Olukoyede threatened to prosecute anyone found engaging in the dollarisation of the economy. He emphasised that such actions would be treated as criminal offences in accordance with Nigerian laws.
In line with that, the EFCC Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Thursday asserted that a 7,000-man special task force on dollar racketeers operating across the EFCC zonal commands was monitoring the schools and other organisations that might be involved in the illegality.
Oyewale, in response to questions about the agency’s efforts to address forex racketeering and stabilise the naira, told The PUNCH that the task force was set up “to ensure that those breaking the rules find their way back to the right path so that the wrath of the law will not be on them.”
He explained that the agency would clamp down on schools and other organisations charging foreign currencies, adding that it is illegal for any business operating in the country to charge for its services in foreign currencies.
He said, “The task force is not just to monitor naira abuse alone but for the whole economy. So, the EFCC is working to ensure that those breaking the rules find their way back to the right path so that the wrath of the law will not be on them.
“Yes, everyone knows that it is illegal to charge in other denominations apart from the naira. Whether in Chinese or American currency, any transaction that is not denominated in naira in Nigeria, the EFCC is against it.
“So, the task force is in place to check that and Nigerians should be happy about that. It is not just schools, hotels but other entities across the country that are doing this must come back to the naira as our legal tender.
“Naira is the symbol of our economy and everything that has to do with the economy in Nigeria must be done in naira.”
SaharaReporters had reported how former Kogi Governor, Yahaya Bello paid $845,852.84 in tuition and other fees for his children in the American International School, Abuja.
The school refunded $760,910.84 to the government through the EFCC after deducting charges.
Similarly, the Acting Executive Vice Chairman of the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC), Adamu Abdullahi, recently said that all the products sold at a Chinese supermarket in Abuja sealed for alleged discrimination against Nigerians, were labelled in Chinese.
Abdullahi, who made the revelation during an interview on Channels Television also said that the FCCPC discovered that the only currency accepted at the supermarket was Chinese Yuan and that the commission also confirmed that Nigerians were not allowed to buy from the supermarket.
