In order to stablise dollar to naira exchange rate, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been advised to allow Bureau De Change (BDC) operators to begin trading.
The founder of Agusto & Co, a credit rating agency, Bode Agusto, made this recommendation while speaking at a webinar titled: “Nigeria in 2022 – Will 2022 Be a Year of Strong Growth Driven by Herd Immunity from COVID-19?”
Addressing his audience, Agusto said the BDC operators that have been suspended from operations over five months ago need to start trading again for the naira to gain confidence against the dollar.
According to Agusto, should the apex bank continue to maintain its current stand not to sell dollars directly to the BDC operators, dollar to naira exchange rate would depreciate further to N620/$1 in the parallel market before the end of 2022.
The expert maintained that the naira would continue to suffer in the parallel market if additional liquidity was not brought into the market through the BDCs.
In his words, “We see continued pressure on the parallel market exchange rates.
“And the only way to reduce pressure in the parallel market is to throw money thereby selling dollars to the BDCs. If there is no additional funding to the BDCs from the CBN then the parallel market rate will be between N610 and N620 in 2022. It will be fueled by scarcity and the difference between inflation rates of the dollar and the Naira.”
It would be recalled that last July, the central bank stopped the sale of forex to BDC operators on the ground that they are aiding illegal activities, such that dollar to naira exchange rates didn’t favour the Nigerian economy.
Expressing his disappointment in BDC operators for defeating their purpose of existence, Governor Godwin Emefiele of the CBN, said forex would only be secured from the commercial banks.
