By Modupe Gbadeyanka
President of the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr Aminu Gwadabe, has explained the reason behind difference in the exchange rate of Dollar to the Naira in Abuja and Lagos.
As at the close of trading activities on the parallel foreign exchange market in Lagos, the Dollar was exchanged at N400, while it was traded at N385 in Abuja.
Explaining the reason for the difference, Mr Gwadabe said it is mainly because of the size of the two markets.
According to him, the Lagos market is very big and it is where most Dollar demands are made compared to the Abuja market, which he described as small and dominated by civil servants.
“The Abuja market is smaller in terms of demand than the Lagos market, and it is also dominated by civil servants. Lagos is where most of the demand is,” Mr Gwadabe said.
The difference in the markets is already putting dealers of forex in the country’s capital city under immense pressure.
At the moment, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sells the Dollar to BDCs at N381 and they are expected to sell to the public at N399 per Dollar.
However, some customers are using the Abuja parallel market rate as reference for Dollar purchase, insisting they cannot buy at N400 per Dollar when it is sold for N385 per Dollar in Abuja.
This situation has prompted some BDCs to suspend buying Dollars from members of the public while others insist on buying from the public at N380 per Dollar.