Campaign for Democracy (CD), on Sunday, called on the National Assembly to, as a matter of urgent public importance, look into Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) extant internal policies guiding FOREX in Nigeria to save citizens.
The front line human rights group made the call in a statement by its General Secretary, Pastor Ifeanyi Odili, saying that it was most unfortunate that the country’s currency, Naira had suffered huge depreciation since CBN liberalized FOREX in favour of the Bureau De Change (BDCs) operators.
“It is most unfortunate that since CBN liberalised FOREX in favour of the Bureau De Change BDCs operators, Naira has suffered huge depreciation,” the rights group said.
According to CD, CBN internal arrangement for FOREX has caused untold depreciation of Naira and economic hardships in Nigeria, adding that it was being reported that Nigerians at home found it difficult to access foreign currencies sent to them in Nigeria Banks.
“Instead of beneficiaries to access their money in the banks, they are directed to the agents of Bureaux De Change which in turn put the foreign currencies at higher rates,” the group said.
“Sometimes in August 2021, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), after its Monetary meeting, we are aware that the CBN also said it was inundated with at least 100 new BDC applications per month, leaving us to ask what type of nation is Nigeria?
“Nigeria’s economy is currently battling with weak economic growth rate, high inflationary pressures and exchange rate volatility. With a high unemployment rate, Nigerians who are willing to work could not find jobs.
“It was in response to this national malady that the CBN introduced a number of measures to inject life back into the economy through its development functions.
“In this spirit, the Apex monetary authority sold foreign exchange to BDC operators with a view to addressing exchange rate volatility but this purpose has been defeated,” CD said.
“Naira has depreciated against major currencies of the world particularly the US dollar. The arbitrage between the official and parallel market rates moved from about N50 in 2015 to N120 in 2016, and to N90 in 2017. It was about N60 each in 2018 and 2019.
“The arbitrage rose further to N75 in 2020 and to N95 in 2021. What the above arbitrage opportunities mean is that a BDC that gets $20,000 weekly even with a N50 arbitrage opportunity will make a million naira profit weekly, translating to N4 million monthly and N52 million annually,” the group sadly noted.
CD said only a few small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make this kind of returns annually, urging that the decent BDC operators in the country should have called their erring colleagues to order.
It argued that this was more so when 400 financiers of Boko Haram activities were arrested in April this year in Kano, Borno, Abuja, Lagos, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kaduna and Zamfara states, saying with such discovery alone, it was necessary for the CBN and other security agencies to monitor operations of the BDCs closely.
“Only a few small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make this kind of returns annually. The decent BDC operators in the country should have called their erring colleagues to order.
“This was more so from the point when 400 financiers of Boko Haram activities were arrested in April this year in Kano, Borno, Abuja, Lagos, Sokoto, Adamawa, Kaduna and Zamfara states. Even with that discovery alone, it was necessary for the CBN and other security agencies to monitor operations of the BDCs closely,” the rights group posited.
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CBN should look into extant internal policies guiding FOREX ― CD
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