The former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tunde Lemo has said arresting Bureau De Change Operators (BDcs) suspected to be hoarding U.S. dollars will only worsen the nation’s economic position.
Lemo’s comment was after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) reportedly raided stands of BDCs in the Wuse Zone 4 area of Abuja last week.
Speaking to the press in Abeokuta, Ogun State on Saturday, Tunde Lemo explained that it was not the activity of the BDCs that caused forex scarcity but insecurity and non-remittance of forex by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation recently registered as the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited.
In his words: “This (the arrest) will lead us to nowhere and worsen the dire situation. The current scarcity is caused by the security situation in the country as well as the non-remittance of Forex by NNPC, a major supplier”.
“The market is sensitive to too many rules. CBN should move more to the market- determined exchange rate policy with less capital control. This is the only way to attract liquidity from independent sources. Involving EFFC, at this stage will compound the problems”.
On August 5, it was reported that Abdulrasheed Bawa, Chairman, EFCC, met with the representatives of Bureau de Change Operators in Abuja to discuss how to curb forex hoarding and activities that could impede the progress of Nigeria’s economy.
According to Bawa, BDCs activities were responsible for the over N700 per US$1 exchange rate at the parallel market popularly known as the black market.
The meeting was EFFC’s effort at addressing the alarming crash in the value of the Nigerian Naira against its global counterparts on the black market and also to come up with a collaborative strategy between the commission and BDCs, especially at the black market/parallel market.
Furthermore, the commission hoped to have similar meetings at other major Bureau de Change Operator cities like Kano, Lagos, Port Harcourt, Enugu and Calabar.