Economy
No BDC Operator Gets Forex at N305/$—ABCON
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has said that none of its members gets foreign exchange (forex) at rates lower than the standard market price put in place by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This was disclosed by president of ABCON, Mr Aminu Gwadabe, in a statement issued by the group to comment on a petition written against the CBN by a lawyer. The legal practitioner, Barrister J.U. Agoyu, had claimed that the apex bank was running a dual exchange rate allocation regime.
But defending Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, the ABCON boss said the policy on foreign exchange allocation to Bureau de Change (BDC) had helped stabilized the Naira against the dollar.
Mr Gwadabe said Mr Agoyu’s petition to the Senate Committee on Finance was uncalled for, saying the accusation against the CBN governor and its management team of compromise in the allocation of foreign exchange was false.
The petitioner had pleaded with the Senate to compel Mr Emefiele to review the policy of dual exchange rate without delay to keep BDC operators in business.
During one of the sessions at the National Assembly, a member of the committee, Senator Ayo Akinyelure, had said, “There is a case against the CBN governor and his management team written by Bar. J.U Ayogu. A petition before the Senate laid on December 12, 2019 where Bar. J. U Ayogu, Esq, on behalf of the Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria wrote against the CBN over its dual exchange rate forex policy that enriches a few Nigerians and its top management staff to the detriment of many lawful Nigerians and frustrating the policy of the present administration of eradicating poverty and unemployment from all the nooks and crannies of Nigeria.”
But Mr Gwadabe, disclaiming the N305/$ rate to BDCs as claimed by the petitioner, clarified that it was not the transactional rate used in the market but used in settling government obligations.
“This is the hand work of unknown faces not ABCON. It is confrontational and lack credible evidence. The N305/$ is not a transactional rate but for settling government obligations.
“ABCON submission to the National Assembly is on Value Added Tax (VAT) exemption and review of licence fee renewal downward submitted to the CBN.
“The petitioner was never at any time appointed to speak on behalf of the BDCs,” Mr Gwadabe said.
He said that no BDC or service provider gets forex at N305 to the dollar and that the petitioner’s claim was completely false, stressing that the CBN forex policy has brought stability to the BDC sector and helped operators to embrace automation which is the standard practice globally.
Mr Gwadabe further explained that beyond the rate differentials, Nigeria needs multiple streams of forex earnings and the enlisting of more channels to attract Diaspora remittances and other foreign capital that will not only deepen the market, keep the Naira stable and boost operations of BDCs.
He said that Diaspora remittances to Nigeria, which stood at $25 billion annually in 2018, remains a reliable source of forex to the domestic economy and should form part of the revenue stream for the over 4,500 CBN-licenced BDCs.
The ABCON boss noted that there was need to make BDCs one of the channels for receiving Diaspora remittances into the economy to create more income for operators, stressing that BDCs remain at the centre of economic development and have the capacity to attract needed capital for the growth of the Nigerian economy.
“Other great areas to focus in diversifying our foreign exchange earnings include promoting Diaspora remittances for economic buffer and foreign reserves accretion as seen in India and United Arab Emirates (UAE) where migration remittances have lifted their economies.
“The ABCON Executive Council under my leadership will continue to promote improved capacity and technological advancement among BDC operators. We are also committed to better skills acquisition for BDC operators to elevate them to viable monetary regulatory partners and lead players in exchange rate stability,” Mr Gwadabe added.
He further commended the CBN management for its progressive policies and for achieving stable exchange rate that aligned with its price stability mandate, noting that with improved availability of foreign exchange, the exchange rate at the Investors’ and Exporters’ Forex window has remained stable for over two years at an average N360/$, and the parallel market exchange rate has appreciated from N530/$ in February 2017 to around N360/$.
Mr Gwadabe said the CBN has been able to create a people-focused central bank promoting macro-economic objectives such as low inflation and a stable exchange rate, along with a focus on promoting inclusive growth and reducing unemployment in the country.
Meanwhile, the leader of BDC operators in Nigeria said ABCON has appointed Mike Akinfolarin & Associates as its consultant/tax Attorneys on VAT, which is a bigger problem confronting the operators as a large part of their income go into paying taxes, adding that in other economies, foreign exchange rate control by government is VAT exempt.
“The law firm of Mike Akinfolarin &Associates (tax attorneys) made a representation on behalf of ABCON before the National Assembly public hearing – the House Committee on Finance Bill – on November 25, 2019 in Abuja. And that remains the position of ABCON,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased for the eighth consecutive month in November as it printed 14.45 per cent relative to the October 2025 headline inflation rate of 16.05 per cent.
According to the data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday, on a month-on-month basis, the headline inflation rate in November 2025 was 1.22 per cent, which was 0.29 per cent higher than the 0.93 per cent recorded in October 2025.
Consumer inflation peaked at 34 per cent last December before dropping after the stats office revised its base year from 2009 to 2024 and adjusted the weight of items in its price basket.
On a month-on-month basis, the food inflation rate in November 2025 was 1.13 per cent, up by 1.5 per cent from the -0.37 per cent achieved in the preceding month. The increase can be attributed to the rate of increase in the average prices of tomatoes (dried), cassava tuber, periwinkle (shelled), grounded pepper, eggs, crayfish, melon (egusi) unshelled, oxtail, and onions (fresh), among others.
The average annual rate of food inflation for the 12 months ending November 2025 over the previous 12 months’ average was 19.68 per cent, which was 18.99 per cent points lower than the average annual rate of change recorded in November 2024 at 38.67 per cent.
For the urban inflation rate, it stood at 13.61 per cent versus 23.49 per cent in the previous month and compared with the 37.10 per cent recorded in November 2024.
On a month-on-month basis, the urban inflation rate was 0.95 per cent in the review month, down by 0.18 per cent from the 1.14 per cent in October 2025. The corresponding 12-month average for the urban inflation rate was 20.80 per cent in November 2025, which was 14.27 per cent lower than the 35.07 per cent reported in November 2024.
The rural inflation rate in November 2025 was 15.15 per cent on a year-on-year basis, standing 17.12 per cent lower than the 32.27 per cent recorded in November 2024. On a month-on-month basis, the rural inflation rate in November 2025 was 1.88 per cent, up by 1.43 per cent when compared with the 0.45 per cent achieved in October 2025. The corresponding 12-month average for the rural inflation rate in November 2025 was 19.46 per cent. This was 11.24 per cent lower than the 30.71 per cent recorded in November 2024.
By Dipo Olowookere
The level of activity at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) shrank last week after a turnover of 4.373 billion shares worth N97.783 billion in 110,736 deals compared with the 6.617 billion shares worth N113.224 billion executed in 109,590 deals in the preceding week.
It was observed that the financial services industry led the activity chart by volume with 2.252 billion units sold for N47.204 billion in 44,808 deals, contributing 51.49 per cent and 48.27 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The ICT sector traded 1.118 billion equities worth N13.148 billion in 10,413 deals, and the energy segment exchanged 233.891 million stocks valued at N4.726 billion in 7,515 deals.
eTranzact, Access Holdings, and FCMB accounted for 1.921 billion shares worth N22.218 billion in 9,558 deals, contributing 43.93 per cent and 22.72 per cent to the total trading volume and value apiece.
The best-performing equity was Morison Industries with a price appreciation of 32.49 per cent to sell for N4.69, Mecure Industries expanded by 27.35 per cent to N37.95, Japaul gained 26.27 per cent to finish at N2.66, Sovereign Trust Insurance improved by 17.24 per cent to N3.40, and PZ Cussons chalked up 16.19 per cent to settle at N47.00.
On the flip side, Eterna lost 14.93 per cent to quote at N30.20, UAC Nigeria declined by 14.26 per cent to N83.00, eTranzact shed 10.00 per cent to end at N12.60, Transcorp Hotels depreciated by 9.95 per cent to N155.60, and Chellarams crumbled by 9.90 per cent to N13.20.
In the five-day trading week, 49 equities appreciated versus 55 equities a week earlier, 41 shares depreciated versus 29 share in the previous week, and 57 stocks closed flat versus 63 stocks in the preceding week.
At the close of business for the week last Friday, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 1.63 per cent to 149,433.26 points and the market capitalisation rose by 1.64 per cent to N95.264 trillion.
In the same vein, all other indices finished higher apart from the banking, AFR Div. Yield, MERI Growth, MERI Value, energy, sovereign bond, and commodity indices, which depreciated by 0.12 per cent, 0.75 per cent, 1.07 per cent, 0.27 per cent, 0.13 per cent, 2.02 per cent, and 0.49 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has issued a statement providing further clarifications following comments and reports on the recent memorandum of understanding between Nigeria and France on taxation.
The MoU, signed on December 10, 2025, at the French Embassy in Abuja by the chairman of FIRS, Mr Zacch Adedeji and French Ambassador, Mr Marc Fonbaustier, on behalf of France’s Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP), focuses on key areas, including digital transformation, workforce development, information exchange, transfer pricing, and tackling base erosion and profit shifting.
However, the MoU has been met with resistance from opposition coalition party African Democratic Congress (ADC) as well as Northern elders, which both raised serious questions about transparency, national sovereignty and the safety of Nigerian consumers’ data.
In response, the tax authority, which will become known as Nigerian Revenue Service (NRS) from next year, emphasised that the deal does not grant France access to Nigerian taxpayer data, digital systems, or any element of the country’s operational infrastructure.
“All existing Nigerian laws on data protection, cybersecurity, and sovereignty remain fully applicable and strictly enforced. The NRS, like its predecessor, FIRS, places the highest premium on national security and maintains rigorous standards for the protection of all taxpayer information.”
It said similar MoUs are signed by tax administrations around the world to promote collaboration, knowledge sharing, and the adoption of global best practices.
“The DGFIP is among the world’s most advanced tax authorities, with over a century of institutional experience and deep expertise in digital transformation, taxpayer services, governance, and public finance.
“This partnership simply enables Nigeria to learn from that experience. It is advisory, non-intrusive, and entirely under Nigeria’s control.
“Contrary to misconceptions, the MoU does not displace local technology providers, FIRS and the emerging Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) continue to work closely with Nigerian innovators such as NIBSS, Interswitch, Paystack, and Flutterwave. The MoU does not include the provision of technical services; it is limited to knowledge sharing, institutional strengthening, workforce development, policy support, and best-practice guidance.
“We welcome robust public engagement on tax reforms, but such conversations must reflect the actual content and purpose of the agreement. Rather than undermining Nigeria’s sovereignty, this MoU strengthens it by helping to build a modern, capable, globally competitive tax administration one firmly in command of its systems, data, and strategic direction.
“FIRS remains committed to transparency, professionalism and partnership that advance Nigeria’s long-term economic development,” it said in a statement.
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