This is certainly not the best of times for business in Nigeria, no thanks to the continual crashing of the Naira at the forex market. This has made it difficult to make meaningful business planning and projections. Currently, Naira is exchanging at N257 to the US Dollar against the official exchange rate of N197 to the Dollar.
This followed the exclusion of some Bureau de Change (BDC) from the official window by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for failing to render returns on the utilization of previous forex purchases. This has been creating shortage of dollars. The CBN sold $30.5m to 1,017 BDCs on Wednesday but excluded around 1,801 others from its weekly sale. “We are in contact with the central bank to resolve issues around the exclusion of some of our members from forex sales and we are expecting a positive response,” said Aminu Gwadebe, president, Association of Bureau De Change Operators.
The CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, on Thursday said at at the annual Bankers’ Committee retreat in Lagos that the fall in oil prices has put pressure on the external reserves and the exchange rate.
Nevertheless, the Naira traded at N198.97 to the dollar at the official interbank market on Thursday, where it has been oscillating between N197 and N199.
By Dike Onwuamaeze