Peter Obi | Image: Google
.Says they didn’t cause dollar rise
‘To think that the BDCs are the cause of the declining value of the Naira is a smack on rational economic thinking’
By Valentine Amanze
The Labour Party Presidential flagbearer in the 2023 general election, Mr. Peter Obi, has warned the President Bola Tinubu-led federal government against arresting Bureau de Change (BDC) operators over the contineous naira crash against the dollar.
Obi said that the BDC operators, who are predominantly from the northern Nigeria, were not the cause of the naira fall or dollar rise.
The Anambra State former governor gave the warning in his X handle, @PeterObi, on Sunday.
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Obi, who condemned the persecution of the BDC operators, described the act as primitive and government’s poor understanding of the problems.
His words: “The recent reported attacks and disruption of the business activities of Bureaux de Change (BDCs) operators in different urban centres 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 neither 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 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, and stop ridiculing the nation in the eyes of global economies.”
valoa2000@yahoo.com
