Bureaux De Change operators blame forex speculators for naira crisis

Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has blamed speculators for the sale of dollars above the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) approved exchange rate.

In a statement signed by its President, Aminu Gwadabe, ABCON advised foreign exchange users to buy dollars from CBN-licensed Bureaux De Change (BDCs) at the approved rate and refrain from patronising forex speculators.

The naira had topsy-turvy trading last week, closing at N495/$ in the parallel market while NAFEX exchange rate ended at N410.25/$ in the official market.

According to Gwadabe, forex speculators capitalised on the state of the foreign exchange market and the naira to sell dollars above CBN approved margin.

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He said the parallel market activities had for years become major drivers of the exchange rates and control over such transactions had become burdensome.

He said only CBN-licenced BDCs operate within regulatory guidelines and therefore should be patronised.

Gwadabe stressed that the BDCs, being regulatory-compliant and operating within international best practices, cannot sell the dollar to end-users above the N2 per dollar margin set by the CBN to protect the naira against foreign exchange speculators and ensure exchange rate stability.

He said: “ABCON has continued to ensure that BDCs file their reports as and at when due, conduct Know Your Customer (KYC) and due diligence reports as required by the apex bank.”

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