The Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) have set an agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari to achieve a lower foreign exchange rate N250 against the US dollar in his second term in office.
The President of ABCON, Alhaji (Dr) Aminu Gwadabe, who revealed this to financial journalists over the weekend, said lowering the currency rate will help stabilise the economy.
He said a lower foreign exchange regime will stabilise the local currency, raise investors’ confidence, improve foreign remittance flows and entrench fiscal discipline.
“A stronger naira will raise Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs), help in the implementation of the restriction of foreign exchange access to forty-two items that can produce locally and improve BDCs capabilities to thrive.”
The dollar agenda rate is necessary, especially following the inflation in exchange rate as a result of the elections, as predicted by Gwadabe.
Current Dollar exchange rate
The Naira exchanges at N362 to the dollar at the parallel market, N358 to dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC), and N361 at the I&E – Investors’ & Exporters’ FX Window. The local currency trades flat at N306.85 to a dollar at the official market.
Meanwhile, investment and consultancy firms have predicted that the value of naira may fall above N400 to a dollar at the end of 2019. Predictions, the currency traders described as mere speculation.
While Afrinvest predicted that the currency may suffer a drop in value between N390 to N401 to a dollar.
Meanwhile, Capital market leaders and experts have also told the Government to focus on infrastructural development, the anti-corruption campaign and effective balancing of fiscal and monetary policies to hasten economic growth.
Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) President, Mr. Adedapo Adekoje, said
“Capital market practitioners should be involved in policy formulation, knowing that the capital market is the barometer of the economy. There should also be a balance between monetary and fiscal policies; government should also encourage multinational companies and some government companies to embrace the capital market for long-term funds,”
He said the Government should appoint technocrats into the new cabinet while priority should be given to job creation through favourable policies for the development of small and medium enterprises.
