May 15, (THEWILL)- As the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) intensifies the clampdown on Bureau De Change (BDC) operators over the continued depreciation of the naira, members of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) have said they are not responsible for the ill-fortune of the domestic currency.
The EFCC has maintained its clampdown against the retail segment of the forex market (the BDCs) since the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), in the fourth quarter of 2023, activated its push against those perceived as economic saboteurs in weakening the value of the naira.
Operatives of the EFCC, on Tuesday, expanded their clampdown on BDC operators, arresting traders in Abuja, Lagos, Kano and Port Harcourt.
The recent raids followed renewed efforts by the Federal Government to tackle the naira’s recent fall against the greenback.
The naira hit a new low of N1,540.4 to a dollar on Tuesday, prompting speculations that the battered local currency is on the way to another deep depreciation after the gains of mid-April when it exchanged for N1,100/US$ in both the official and parallel market windows.
In a twist of events, a senior official of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has cited insufficient dollar allocations from the CBN as the primary cause for the naira’s recent depreciation, not the actions of BDC operators.
He noted that the naira reached a new low of N1520.4 earlier this week amid market volatility highlighted by a 41% drop in daily turnover, signalling tighter liquidity.
The ABCON official, who pleaded anonymity “because of the authorities’ anger towards ABCON”, criticised what he called the lack of focus on the Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (AFEM) window, suggesting that better management could stabilise the market.
According to the ABCON official, lack of adequate supply was a major factor causing the depreciation as he strongly refuted claims in some quarters that BDC operators are to blame for the recent fluctuations in exchange rates.
The new low of N1,520.4/US$1 the naira hit on Tuesday, was the first since March 20, with daily turnover in May notably lower than in the preceding months, signalling tightening liquidity in the foreign exchange market.
Sam Diala is a Bloomberg Certified Financial Journalist with over a decade of experience in reporting Business and Economy. He is Business Editor at THEWILL Newspaper, and believes that work, not wishes, creates wealth.
