Hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) stopped the sale of foreign exchange to Bureaux De Change (BDCs) operators in the country, naira has fallen to N522 to a United States dollar at the parallel market.
Governor of CBN Godwin Emefiele said soon after the July 2021 Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting in Abuja on Tuesday that the apex bank was channeling $5.7 billion (about N2.346 trillion) annually through the BDCs.
Hours after the forex ban, the local currency, according to data on abokiFX.com, opened on Wednesday’s trading at N505/$1, lost N17 (3.4 percent) in midday trading.
The naira traded close at N411.50/$1 at the importer & exporter (I&E) window.
Emefiele, who accused the BDC operators of money laundering, said the $5.7 billion allocated to BDCs has become unsustainable as $20,000 each is allocated to over 5,500 BDCs in the country, amounting to $110 million every week.
Experts said the apex bank’s new policy will further shoot up the dollar rates at the parallel market.
