Amid Nigeria’s foreign exchange crisis, Bureau de Change operators have announced the indefinite closure of their Abuja offices due to FX scarcity beginning Thursday, February 1, 2024.
Abdullahi Dauran, Chairman of Abuja’s BDC operators, confirmed this in a statement on Wednesday.
Dauran emphasized that the paucity of funds was the driving force behind their choice to close.
He also said that internet business transactions and bitcoin were to blame for the scarcity of dollars.
Meanwhile, Platinum Times communicated with Aminu Gwadabe, head of the Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria, or ABCON, about the situation, but he did not react clearly.
He said,
“I saw it online, too.”
Data from FMDQ on Thursday showed that the Naira marginally appreciated N1,455.59 per US dollar from N1,482.57 on Wednesday.
This media reports Naira depreciation worsened on Tuesday as the drop to N1,482.57 per US Dollar at the official market was higher than the N1,470 quoted at the parallel market.
Despite the Central Bank of Nigeria’s injection of over $500 million to clear the forex backlog and other interventions, the Naira has continued to tumble against the dollar.
However, on Wednesday, as a possible solution to the continued fall of Naira at the forex market, the CBN released fresh guidelines to commercial banks against foreign currency speculation and hoarding.