(Bloomberg) -- Nigeria unveiled an amnesty program to draw out foreign exchange hoarded by individuals outside banks in a bid to support the nation’s currency, which plummeted to a new low on Thursday.
Individuals won’t be subjected to tax audits and the government won’t expropriate the assets, Nigeria’s finance ministry said in a statement on Thursday. The program will be open for nine months.
“The scheme offers a secure, confidential channel for people to reintegrate their legitimate foreign-currency funds, promoting stability and growth for our nation,” Finance Minister Wale Edun said in the statement.
Residents have been hoarding dollars as protection against the incessant plunge in the naira. The currency is Africa’s worst performer against the dollar after the Ethiopian birr this year, and dropped 2.7% to a low of 1,675.490 on Thursday.
Low liquidity in the foreign-exchange market has been blamed for the naira’s woes. President Bola Tinubu allowed the naira to trade more freely and scrapped multiple exchange rates after he took office.
(Corrects second paragraph to show statement is from finance ministry.)
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