Following the unavailability of dollars, Bureau De Change operators in Abuja have announced the shut down of their operations, as reported by the Daily Trust.
On Wednesday, this decision was communicated by the association’s Chairman, Abdulahi Dauran.
The naira reached an all-time low of N1,482 against the United States dollar on the official window on Tuesday, while remaining stable at N1,450/$ on the parallel market.
Dauran attributed the closure to online business transactions and cryptocurrency, leading to the shut down of business operations effective from Thursday, February 1, 2024.
This development occurs amidst fresh initiatives by the Central Bank of Nigeria to stabilize the nation’s volatile exchange rate.
The apex bank directed Deposit Money Banks on Wednesday to sell their excess dollar stock by February 1, 2024 and warned lenders against hoarding excess foreign currencies for profit.
Officials indicated that the bank suspects some commercial banks of holding long-term foreign exchange positions to profit from the volatile exchange rates, prompting the introduction of a new directive with guidelines to mitigate associated risks.