The President, the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Dr. Aminu Gwadabe, says achieving a stable, strong and virile exchange rate in Nigeria will require the full participation of Bureaux De Change operators in the retail segment of the forex exchange market.
In a statement, he said under the current leadership at the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country has all it takes to achieve a strong and stable exchange rate and build a highly liquid forex market that supports the domestic economy.
On the challenges confronting the nation’s forex market and depreciation of the naira, he said it required the BDCs to be fully involved in providing lasting solutions to the ongoing volatility in the exchange rate.
Gwadabe said the continuous depreciation of the naira in both official and parallel markets did not benefit the BDCs and the domestic economy, and that, steps should be taken to reverse the trend and strengthen the local currency for maximum impact on the economy.
The naira on Tuesday crossed N1,100 to the dollar mark at the parallel market, even as it continued to weaken considerably at the official market due to persistent dollar scarcity and speculative activities of illegal forex dealers, the statement said.
He said the several measures by the apex bank to bridge exchange rate gaps showed genuine intentions of the regulator to entrench exchange rate stability, but getting the BDCs involved in the solution recipe would bring the desired results of not only a highly liquid market but stable rates.
Gwadabe said that like every other segment of the market, the illiquidity in the market remained a major concern to the BDC sector.
He said aside from illiquidity in the market, the ABCON is not happy with the unlicensed forex dealers who were at the centre of speculative activities, and attracting a negative image to the sub-sector.
He said ABCON could only continue to educate the general public against patronising the illegal forex dealers because the suspension of the Self-Regulatory Organisation status of ABCON made it difficult for the group to directly sanction the illegal operators.
