By Ikechukwu Okaforadi
Currency changers, in other words known as Bureau De Change (BDC) yesterday took their protest to the National Assembly, where they met with the Committees on Finance of both chambers of the National Assembly to complain about the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) policy of N35 million capitalisation.
Presenting their protest before the lawmakers who are members of the committee, the operators asked for intervention to stop CBN from imposing the N35m capitalisation policy on them.
Acting President of the Association, Aminu Gwadabe, who led his members to the National Assembly, said his group had met with the Governor of CBN, Godwin Emefiele, on the issue before coming to the parliament to table their grievances.
He said his group held a fruitful deliberation with Emefiele on the controversial N35m capitalisation and that the apex bank boss pledged to look into the issue.
Briefing the Senate Committee on Finance, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, Gwadabe pointed out that the policy would worsen the current unemployment problem in the country if implemented.
He also said the policy would further lead to an embarrassing devaluation of the nation’s currency because many operators would close down, lamenting that the development would lead to emergence of various black markets across the country.
Gwadabe further told the senators that the imposition of policy on the operators would lead to circulation of foreign currencies, adding that the active involvement of the organised BDC operators in forex trading over the years had greatly improved the image of the country abroad as Nigerian travellers were no longer arrested for being in possession of fake currencies.
Makarfi, while responding to the delegation’s presentation, appealed to the BDC operators to go about their agitation in the most orderly manner and pledged that the senate would continue to create constructive engagement with all stakeholders to ensure peace, harmony and progress in the sector.
Never miss a moment! Get the stories shaping Nigeria, delivered straight to your phone. Follow Peoplesdaily Newspaper on WhatsApp for breaking news, exclusive reports, and the headlines everyone will be talking about, before anyone else.
