Bureau de Change (BDC) operators have assured of their commitment to supporting the Federal Government in efforts to clamp down on the rise of foreign currencies.
Speaking after a meeting in Abuja on Tuesday, Shehu Lima, a stakeholder of FCT BDC operators said the operators are committed to supporting the efforts of the federal government in clamping down on the price of foreign currency so that the Naira can gain strength.
Lima refuted claims that the BDC market is benefiting from the incessant rise, explaining that the market is not a determining factor that affects the price of foreign currency in any way. One of the factors, he said, was COVID-19 which caused a change globally, not only in Nigeria.
He recalled that in a meeting of African traders held in Côte d’Ivoire, they mentioned many factors that contributed toward global economic trend change which also falls within the boundary of the currencies,
He therefore said, “So in our effort to see that we give our own contributions as stakeholders who deal in foreign currencies, we met and concluded that the prize we are going to buy Dollar henceforth is N620 and our selling price will be N630 and there is going to be a weekly review on prices based on other negative or positive changes experienced in the market which will be sustainable by us and we will stand by our words which is to help the Nigerian authority.”
Lima continued by calling on the government to eradicate corrupt practices which he said are major determining factors in the pressure against the Naira.
“On its part, government should also help eliminate corrupt practices in the society because most of the Dollar purchase is not done by only businessmen, most of these Dollars are used in stocking Ill-gotten wealth or bribing civil servants in order to acquire contracts and favour in government coffers.
“So virtually, corruption has played a major role and without curbing the corruption in the society, whatever effort anyone puts in place could be of little or no help at all.
“We will do our part, we also want government to do its part so that we can achieve sustainable economic growth and stability,” he said.
Also Speaking, Murtala Bashir, CEO of 313 BDC and one of the stakeholders present at the collaborative meeting with the EFCC, said BDC operators have nothing to lose even if the price of the Dollar comes down to CBN rate.
Bashir said they (the FCT BDC operators) have started an awareness campaign among their members to sensitise them on standard practices to further curb the rise of foreign currencies.
“We have started with ourselves. It is not in our interest the way things are going.
“Today we have started a campaign to enlighten our members to understand that it is not good for us and we will continue to do whatever we can in our capacity to bring the price of foreign exchange down.”
