The shutdown of operations in Abuja by Bureau De Change operators due to the unavailability of dollars has been announced, as reported.
The association’s Chairman, Abdulahi Dauran, made this announcement on Wednesday. On the official window, the naira closed at an all-time low of N1,482 against the United States dollar on Tuesday, while on the parallel market, it remained stable at N1,450/$. Dauran attributed the closure to online business transactions and cryptocurrency. The closure of business is set to take effect from Thursday, February 1, 2024.
This development is occurring against the backdrop of recent efforts by the Central Bank of Nigeria to stabilize the nation’s volatile exchange rate. On Wednesday, the apex bank issued a directive instructing Deposit Money Banks to divest their surplus dollar stocks by February 1, 2024.
Additionally, the CBN cautioned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit, suspecting that certain commercial banks maintain long-term foreign exchange positions to capitalize on the unpredictable fluctuations in exchange rates. The new directive also introduced a set of guidelines aimed at mitigating the risks associated with such practices.