ABCON unveils roadmap on save the naira campaign

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has developed a roadmap campaign plan needed to save the naira from further decline and enhance exchange rate stability. The ABCON National Executive Council said the move to save the naira was agreed by the body at the conclusion of its meeting in Lagos, where […]

The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has developed a roadmap campaign plan needed to save the naira from further decline and enhance exchange rate stability.

The ABCON National Executive Council said the move to save the naira was agreed by the body at the conclusion of its meeting in Lagos, where it unveiled strategies to save the local currency, bridge the exchange rate gaps and curb volatility in the forex market.

The naira exchanges at N596 to dollar at the parallel market and N415.83 to dollar at the official market, creating a rate gap of N180.17 per dollar.

The ABCON president, Aminu Gwadabe, said there was an urgent need to enhance dollar liquidity in the market and ensure stability of prices in the economy.

These steps, he said, would save the local currency and economy from the impact of election spending that has kept inflation at double digits for a very long time.

The ABCON boss disclosed that the depreciation of the naira against global currencies was due to pressure from rising dollar demand without sufficient liquidity to meet the demands from retail end users, manufacturers and other key players in the economy.

He called for the creation of BDCs’ Autonomous Foreign Exchange Trading Window (BAFEX) with a determined  maximum daily limit  for legible  BDCs to access dollars from banks, autonomous market and diaspora forex widow at the prevailing market prices.

He said there is an urgent need to review the guidelines on BDC’s Scope of Operations to include participation in payment space, such as agency banking, Point of Sale (PoS) services, inbound and outbound forex transfers, ATM forex services, to reflect global business model practice.

Gwadabe insisted that now is the time to break the current industry monopoly that puts the remittances market in the hands of few players depriving others from tapping into the plan.