BDC operators set N250/$ exchange rate agenda for Buhari

…Says achieving lower exchange rate will benefit the common man
The Association of Bureaux de Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has set N250 to dollar exchange rate agenda for President Muhammadu Buhari in his second term in office.

ABCON President, Alhaji (Dr) Aminu Gwadabe, who disclosed this to financial journalists in Lagos, said achieving a lower exchange rate for the economy will benefit the common man and lift businesses.

The naira exchanges at N362 to the dollar at the parallel market and N358 to a dollar at the Bureaux De Change (BDC) while the local currency exchanges at N306 to a dollar at the official rate.

The ABCON boss also said such lower exchange rate will improve the transaction volume for BDCs by enabling operators to buy and sell more dollars from their available cash flow.

He said a lower exchange rate against the greenback will stabilize the local currency, raise investors’ confidence, improve Diaspora remittance flow and entrench fiscal discipline.

Continuing, he said a stronger Naira will raise Internally Generated Revenue, help in the implementation of the restriction of foreign exchange access to 42 items that can be produced locally and improve BDCs capabilities to thrive.

Gwadabe, therefore, advised the Federal Government to constitute new economic management team and review government’s performance in the last four years, adding that such review will give room for better performance in the second term of this administration which commences on May 29, 2019.

Gwadabe said the economy is not performing to expectations, andthe government is expected to re-strategise and review its performance in the last four years and develop a concrete actionable strategy for better performance.

The All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Muhammadu Buhari, emerged the winner of the 2019 presidential election in Nigeria. The incumbent president, who defeated 73 other candidates, scored a total of 15,191,847 votes across 19 states.

Gwadabe said that if government waits till May 29 before setting up a think-tank economic team with functional experience on the economy, security, agriculture and human resource development, it would have wasted tangible time needed for smooth take-off.

He said the committee members should have deep knowledge of the economy, and be ready to access information on how these sectors have worked effectively in other countries in order to deploy a related strategy in the interest of the local economy.

Gwadabe said that by now, the government should know where the complaints over its performance in the last four years came from and give priority to tackling unemployment, fixing road infrastructure, creating better investment opportunities for the people and companies as well as strengthening the financial sector, of which BDCs are key players.

The ABCON boss said: “It is only when the economy is buoyant, that they people will be able to save, and that provide enough liquidity for banks to lend and fuel the economy. The other sub-sectors including the bureaux de change sector will equally be positively impacted y a thriving economy.”

Gwadabe, however, advised the Federal Government to be more cautious at borrowing, ensuring that borrowed funds are channeled to projects that will be able to repay the loans.