As dollar to naira continues to be unstable, the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has demanded from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to make available a new foreign exchange (forex) window.
While maintaining that the new forex window will have a maximum daily limit, the BDC operators explained that should this be considered, they will be able to access dollar to naira from banks, autonomous market, and Diaspora forex widow at the prevailing market prices.
The BDC operators also requested an enhancement of existing BDCs’ automation portals to file transaction returns on CBN/ABCON/Nigerian Financial Intelligent Unit/ Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc portals for effective regulatory monitoring and supervision.
The body also canvassed the creation of an automation portal to encourage the registration of undocumented and unlicensed operators for effective monitoring, identification, and tracking of their transactions.
In a statement in which these demands were made, the BDC operators revealed that dollar to naira was exchanging at N596/dollar at the parallel market and 415.83 to the dollar at the official market, creating a rate gap of N180.17 per dollar.
“The naira has consistently come under serious pressure due to dollar scarcity, making it difficult for forex end users, manufacturers, and key industry players to access the dollar needed to meet their needs.
“ABCON under my leadership will continue to encourage our members to play the vital role of closing the exchange rate gaps in the market and reducing widening premium between the parallel market and the official window,” President, ABCON, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, was quoted as saying in the statement.
BizWatch Nigeria understands that following CBN’s decision to stop forex sales to BDC operators, ABCON has continued to make appeals for the resumption of such transactions.
