President, Association of Bureaux Des Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, has called on the CBN to harmonise the rate at which it sells FOREX to commercial banks and its members.
Gwadabe told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos, that the disparity between the rates had forced about 50 per cent of its members to boycott the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) window.
According to him, the CBN sells FOREX to banks at N357 per dollar, while banks are expected to sell at N360, on the order hand BDCs buy at N360 from the CBN and are expected to sell at N362.
The financial expert noted that his members incur losses the moment they access the CBN window, which had forced many of them out of the market.
“The direct implication of this will be the loss of about 20,000 jobs nationwide as the tactical edging of BDCs out of the market will result in the sacking of its workers across the nation,’’ Gwadabe said.
The ABCON chief appealed to the CBN to make BDCs direct agents of International Money Transfer Service Operators (IMTSO) since they were fully automated, and transparency had remained their watchword.
He said the edging of BDCs out of the market would inhibit financial inclusion as BDCs make N30 billion weekly turnover which translates to commission for the commercial banks.
