Human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, has raised alarm over the increasing practice of paying bribes and conducting transactions in US dollars rather than the Nigerian naira.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Falana criticized the government and private actors for fueling the trend, noting that even the president had recently announced gifts to footballers in dollars instead of naira.
“The president was announcing gifts to footballers in dollars, not naira. It has to stop. We must promote the naira, not the dollar,” he said.
The senior lawyer emphasized that under Nigerian law, it is a criminal offence to reject the naira, insisting that the country must put an end to dollarisation in fees, property purchases, and other financial dealings.
Falana’s remarks come at a time when the naira continues to struggle against the dollar, deepening concerns about inflation, corruption, and the erosion of public confidence in the national currency.
