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•BDCs face regulator’s wrath
By Omodele Adigun
It seems the downward spiral of the Naira has defied the magic wand of the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) as the local currency midweek crumbled to 900/dollar at the parallel market despite scaling up 850/dollar and 880/dollar earlier in the week.
As the local currency continues to defy efforts to brace it, the CBN has bared its fangs, threatening to revoke operating licences of any Bureau De Change( BDCs) operators who violate its rules.
The naira tumbled against the United States dollar at the parallel market on Wednesday, closing at 900/dollar. This came barely two weeks after the Naira was sold 960/dollar at the black market.
The local currency, which had gained in recent days, returned to a downward trend as scarcity of of dollars hit the black market again. The Naira had traded between 850/dollar and 880/dollar earlier this week. On Wednesday, the naira fell further at the parallel market, while it also fell on the Investor & Exporter (I8E) window to 773.42/$. The local currency had closed at 757.10/$ at the I&E Window on Tuesday
BDC operators in Lagos, Kano, Abuja and airports sold the hard currency between 895/dollar and 905/dollar on Wednesday.
A BDC operator at the Lagos Airport, who simply identified himself as Sanusi Ibrahim, told newsmen that “We bought and sold the naira today at 890/$ and N900/$ respctively.”
At the Central Business District in Abuja, a BDC operator, Yusuf Kareem, said “The dollar is still scarce. We sold for N900 today.”
At the Allen Avenue Ikeja, Lagos, Alhaji Gambo Aliu, a currency dealer said he sold the greenback at 905/dollar.
The President, Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria(ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, explained after a sensitisation engagement with BDC operators:.
“At a sensitisation engagement between the CBN and our compliance officers across the zones, the apex bank reiterated that by August 31, 2023, any operator that breaches its circular on the allowable margin of -2.5 per cent and +2.5 per cent on average weighted rate of I&E closing rate, rendition of returns and payment of penalties, risks the revocation of the operating licence,” he said.
Last Friday, the apex bank announced operational mechanism for the BDCs to trade foreign currencies at similar rate obtainable on the I & Er forex window.
It gave the directive to BDCs in a circular dated August 17, 2023, and titled, ‘Operational mechanism for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria.’
It read in part, “The spread on buying and selling by BDC operators shall be within an allowable limit of -2.5 per cent to +2.5 per cent of the Nigerian exchange market window weighted average rate of the previous day.
