The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last general election, Peter Obi has condemned the attack raid of Bureau De Change (BDC) Offices across the country by security agencies, saying that the move is “ill-advised and wrongly directed.”
Obi noted that the action, rather than solve our forex crisis, will further worsen it because BDC operators aren’t the primary source of Dollar supply but simply a bridge between the buyers and sellers of foreign currencies.
“The recent reported attacks and disruption of the business activities of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) operators in different urban centers across the country by Government Agencies, are ill-advised and wrongly directed.
“Rather than solve the problem, the action will further escalate and worsen the exchange rate situation in the country. The BDCs are not the primary suppliers of forex nor do they create demand. They only provide a market to sellers and buyers of foreign currency.
“They are part and parcel of every economy and can be found even in the developed economies of the world. To think that the BDCs are the cause of the declining value of the Naira is a smack on rational economic thinking.”
The former Anambra State governor advised Bola Tinubu-led federal government that the only way to stop the bleeding of the naira is by moving the country to production one, stressing that as long as we remain an importation dependent nation and with uncontrolled corruption, the naira will continue to lose value.
“The only way to shore up the value of our currency is to move the country from consumption to production, especially export-led production, and fight corruption, which allows unproductive money to pursue the available supply of foreign currency.
“As long as Nigeria remains an unproductive economy and corruption continues unfettered with people in possession of unproductive excess cash, the value of our currency will continue to depreciate.
“It’s important therefore that government authorities properly understand the workings of a modern economy and channel their efforts accordingly.”
