A United States Professor of Applied Economics, Steve Hanke, has said that over $743 million earned revenue of international airline carriers trapped in Nigeria is an indication that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has continued to display “incompetence” on the international stage.

Hanke on his verified Twitter account on Wednesday further pointed out that the trapped earned revenue of the international airline carriers is the direct result of Nigeria’s severe shortage of US dollars.

“Nigeria is currently withholding payment of $743mn+ in revenue earned by int’l airline carriers. This is a direct result of Nigeria’s severe shortage of US dollars. Nigeria’s central bank continues to display its INCOMPETENCE on the international stage,” Hanke said.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) in March said that Nigeria has been the country with the highest amount of airline-blocked funds in the world, for over a year.

IATA noted that the Trapped Funds Belonging to foreign airlines operating in Nigeria have reached $743,721,097 from $662 million in January 2023.

The trapped funds belonging to foreign airlines in December 2022 increased to $550 million, despite the intervention of the apex bank to clear part of the funds.

However, IATA had said the trapped funds were about half of the $1.1 billion blocked funds in Africa and the Middle East.

On the other hand, there has been a shortage of dollars in Nigeria, which forced Deposit Money Banks in the country in March to slash the amount of Personal Travel Allowance and school fees their customers can apply for.

The worsening foreign exchange crisis forced lenders to take drastic measures to meet their dollar obligations in recent times.

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