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The Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) said that the nationwide raid on Bureau de Change traders by security and anti-graft agencies is not targeted at its members.
The President of ABCON, Mr. Aminu Gwadabe, said this after another raid was conducted on Wednesday in Abuja, Kano, the south east and other major forex market hubs.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had on Monday raided Zone 4, a popular BDC hub in Abuja and arrested traders.
The Central Bank of Nigeria and government authorities claim BDCs are at the heart of foreign exchange speculations, which had led to the depreciation of the naira to N1,900 as of Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
But the raid on their operation has led to mixed reactions among Nigerians.
“We have witnessed a lot of raids and arrests. I want to draw a caveat unfortunately there is stigmatisation and criminalisation of the sector due to lack of understanding even with the security agencies there is a lack of clarification between who is licensed and who is not.
“For us, we are licensed and regulated and as a licensed Bureau De’Change there are criteria, you must have an office, you must render returns you must comply with necessary regulations. What is happening is not targeted at licensed Bureau De’Change but the operator of FX street trading.
“For us, we are against any street trading, and we support any actions that will remove street trading. It affects me also; I have an office, but my clients cannot come to my office because of the menace of street traders,” Gwadabe said.
The naira is also trailing at the official market closing at N1542.6 per dollar. The CBN had admitted shortage in forex supply, which is mounting pressure on the local currency.
Nigeria relies on export proceeds from crude oil sales to fund most forex obligations.
Gwadabe said “It is not rocket science, the liquidity paucity is there and then the demand is high. However, there are a lot of engagements with the CBN stakeholders, especially with the Association of Bureau De’Change Operators of Nigeria.
“We support any sanitization that can remove street trading. We all see it. There is no place on earth that you can go and see rampant street trading of FX, so we’re in support of it.
“We’re also putting reforms in place. All we’re asking is for the CBN to support us. We are revolutionising the entire retail exchange market we support any action that will discourage the menace.”
The ABCON boss said his association has made so many recommendations to the CBN on how licenced traders can use technology, innovation, and automation to address the issue.
Gwadabe added, “In three weeks, we will automate the system. We already have the automation system in place just for the CBN to give us the request for ‘No Objection’. That is all we are asking.
“We can entirely automate the industry, any retail trader, we will automate them in three weeks, we already built the automation platform, and it is there for them. We have sent it to them, and let them give us approval for no objection. That’s all we need, then we are live.”
