The Naira has now dropped to N436 to a dollar at the parallel market which is a new record low for the currency. The situation has been attributed to the chronic lack of forex in the market.
The Central Bank had previously instructed that banks should approve international money transfer operators to sell foreign currency accruing from inward money remittances to licensed Bureaus de Change (BDCs), who in turn were supposed to sell to people who want to buy foreign exchange through the BDCs at the limit of not more than $5,000.
However, the President, Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON), Mr. Aminu Gwadabe, said none of his members were able to access dollars from banks as directed by the CBN. “As I speak to you, no BDC has been able to access FX since Monday. It is very unfortunate that the liquidity in the market has dried up. That is too bad for the market,” the ABCON boss said to ThisDay Newspaper.
Gwadabe was however optimistic that the situation would change on Monday when Travelex begins operations, which primarily involves selling forex directly to BDCs. This is being touted by Gwadabe as the solution to bridging the liquidity gap in the market.
Parts of this article originally appeared in ThisDay Live
