INTRODUCTION
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in its effort to stave off
pressure on the Nigerian currency had drawn the public's
attention to its Currency Substitution and Dollarization of the
Nigerian Currency Circular issued on 17th day April
2015 ("the Circular"). The Circular essentially leveraged
existing legislative provisions to reiterate the bar against
denomination and pricing of local (visible and invisible)
transactions in any foreign currency.
The Circular has spurred a series of questions in the minds of
Nigerian in highbrow areas of Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, etc.
where rents, school fees and payment for other services are made in
foreign currency, especially United States Dollars (USD). These
residents in the wake of the reminder now question the validity of
contracts entered with counterparties (e.g. landlords and service
providers, together "payees") on settlement of their
local obligations in USD. These residents are insisting that
