- By Femi Alabi
After about three years of suspension of sales of foreign exchange to Bureau De Change (BDC) operator’s, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has lifted the suspension.
In a new circular issued and signed by the Director of the Trade and Exchange Department, Hassan Mahmud, the Central Bank of Nigeria stated that it would sell foreign exchange worth $20,000 to each eligible Bureau De Change operator’s.
The allocation will be sold at a rate of N1,301/$, reflecting the lower band rate of executed spot transactions at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market as of the previous trading day, dated February 27, 2024.
The circular emphasized that the sale of foreign exchange to BDCs is part of the ongoing reforms in the foreign exchange market to achieve an appropriate market-determined exchange rate for the Naira.
Bureau De Change are allowed to sell to end-users at a margin not more than one per cent above the purchase rate from the Central Bank official Nigeria.
Eligible Bureau De Change are directed to make Naira payments to designated Central Bank of Nigeria Foreign Currency Deposit Naira Accounts and submit confirmation of payment, along with other necessary documentation, for disbursement at the appropriate Central Bank of Nigeria branches in Abuja, Awka, Lagos, and Kano.
This decision by the Central Bank of Nigeria is part of its frantic efforts to address the free fall of the Naira and stabilise the foreign exchange