By Adedapo Adesanya
The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has warned its members and forex speculators putting pressure on the Naira to stop the practice or risk losing their money.
President of ABCON, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, gave this warning in a statement issued on Wednesday, May 20, in Lagos, where he described currency speculators as “enemies of the [Nigerian] economy,” who would be put to “shame.”
He said very soon, Bureaux De Change (BDC) operators will resume the sale of forex as there have been assurance from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) that Dollars would be made available to his members.
Mr Gwadabe emphasised that the CBN’s planned lifting of suspension on dollar sales to the BDC coupled with the reopening of the airports for air travels and global ease on restriction of movements were indications that forex flow to the economy will soon improve.
“The return of over 5,000 BDCs to the forex market will add great strength to the Naira and lead to major capital losses for forex speculators.
“It happened in 2016 and will happen again in 2020. The return of the BDCs will immediately boost Naira recovery and put the enemies of the economy to shame.” He was quoted in the statement.
Mr Gwadabe also said the return of BDCs to the forex market would help chase away speculators, curb rising inflation, boost productivity and employment.
Speaking further, he said the CBN had created enhanced fiscal buffers with the $3.4 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) meant for Nigeria to meet its urgent balance of payment stemming from the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He then said the loan, which had been disbursed, would boost Nigeria’s dollar reserves and also help in financing the 2020 National budget for targeted and temporary spending increases.
