Economists and financial experts in the country have commended the Central Bank of Nigeria over its outright ban on the sale of forex to BDC operators, advising them to source for forex themselves having deviated from their core roles.
Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria had on July 27, 2021 after the Monetary Policy Committee meeting, announced a ban on sales of forex to BDC operators.
According to the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, despite the fact that Nigeria is the only country in the world where a central bank sells dollars directly to Bureau De Change operators, operators in the Nigerian Bureau De Change segment have not reciprocated the bank’s gesture to help maintain price stability in that market.
According to Dr. Sam Nzekwe, “BDC is meant for light travelers, someone that is traveling and has no time to go to the bank who can just stopover at the airport and buy a few dollars and travel with it. The CBN was allocating forex to them which was a wrong decision, and it is a terrible thing. That is why they encouraged round-tripping.”
Dr. Nzekwe, past President, Association National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN), said the new policy will reduce the prevailing pressure on the forex market as end users are now assured of availability and ease of accessing FOREX within banking hours at official rates.
In his own reaction, Professor Uche Uwaleke, a Professor of Finance and Capital market at the Nasarawa State University, said the ban “on the positive side, is consistent with the move by the CBN to unify Exchange rates and bring more transparency to the forex market.
