The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the leadership of Mr Godwin Emefiele has been commended for bringing stability to the Naira through its foreign exchange (forex) policies.
This commendation was made in a statement issued by the Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) through its president, Mr Aminu Gwadabe.
The Bureaux de Change (BDC) operators said the central bank has been able to achieve a stable exchange rate that aligns with its price stability mandate through various progressive policies, especially with the introduction of the Investors’ & Exporters’ (I&E) FX window in February 2017, keeping the local currency stable at N360/$ at the segment from over N530/$ before its introduction.
Mr Gwadabe explained that beyond the rates differentials, Nigeria needs multiple streams of forex earnings, saying that having more channels to attract diaspora remittances and other foreign capital will not only deepen the market, but will keep the Naira stable and boost operations of BDCs .
According to him, diaspora remittances to Nigeria, which stood at $25 billion annually in 2018, remain a reliable source of forex to the domestic economy and should form part of the revenue stream for over 4,500 CBN -Licenced BDCs.
The ABCON boss believes there is need to make BDCs one of the channels for receiving diaspora remittances into the economy to create more income for operators adding that BDCs remain at the centre of economic development and have the capacity to attract needed capital for the development of the Nigerian economy.
“Other great areas to focus for diversifying our foreign exchange earnings include promoting Diaspora remittances for economic buffer and foreign reserves accretion as seen in India and United Arab Emirates where migration remittances have lifted their economies,” he said.
“The ABCON Executive Council under my leadership will continue to promote improved capacity and technological advancement among BDC operators. We are also committed to better skills acquisition for BDC operators to elevate them to viable monetary regulatory partners and lead player in exchange rate stability,” Mr Gwadabe added.
