The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has assured the public of its readiness to continue to sell a dollar at the official exchange rate of N360. The National president of the association, Aminu Gwadabe, in a statement issued on Thursday advised forex buyers to patronise CBN-licensed BDCs to purchase dollars at the official exchange rate to avoid falling victim of currency hoarders and speculators.
He said: “Given the sharp drop in demand for dollars, caused by the impact of the coronavirus on global trade and travels as well as continued dollar injection by the CBN, there is no pressure in the foreign exchange market to warrant increase in the exchange rate above the official rate”. According to him, the CBN has sustained its weekly dollar sale to BDCs at the same level, hence keeping dollar supply constant and eliminating any apprehension of scarcity or rationing of forex.
He further stated “In view of the above, we believe there is no need for anybody to buy dollars from anyone at exchange rate above the official rate. The CBN sells dollars to BDCs at N357 per dollar while the BDCs are mandated to sell to the public at N360 per dollar for eligible transactions namely: business travel allowance (BTA), personal travel allowance (PTA), medicals, mortgage and school fees”.
The ABCON president explained that in recent times, governments across the world, in a bid to stop the spread of the deadly Covid-19 virus, have imposed travel restrictions, which has led to serious decline in the volume of global passenger travel. He also noted that trade is also at its lowest level globally due to widespread, shutting down businesses in most countries especially China which accounts for about 25 percent of Nigeria’s import.
He said: “One of the consequences of these developments is the general decline in demand for trade and travel related services including foreign exchange. In recent times, ABCON has observed a steady decline in demand for dollars across the various categories of forex end users and based on this observation and information from BDC members of ABCON, we can categorically state that demand for dollars is at one of its lowest point in the market.”
Gwadabe, however assured members of the public not to panic as there is enough dollar supply to meet demand for any of the above eligible transactions at the CBN approved rate of N360 per dollar While also advising all BDCs to ensure compliance to CBN regulations in all transactions with members of the public as any BDC found selling dollars above the official exchange rate of N360 or violating any regulatory requirements will be severely sanctioned and also risk the revocation of its operating license.
