Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party for 2023, has attacked recent government moves directed at Bureau de Change (BDC) operators in several Nigerian cities.
Former Anambra State Governor Obi criticised the crackdown as misguided and ill-advised, warning that it might make the nation’s currency rate problems worse.
Obi highlighted in a statement published on X that BDCs do not generate demand or serve as the main source of foreign exchange, or forex.
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He said that the transformation of Nigeria’s economy from one that is driven by consumption to one that is driven by production—especially in export-led initiatives—is the key to making the currency stronger.
Obi emphasised the need to fight corruption as well, saying that it allows unproductive money to compete for the limited supply of foreign exchange. He voiced fear that the country’s exchange rate crisis might worsen if BDCs were targeted without addressing underlying economic difficulties.
Obi articulated, ”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.
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”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,” he advised.
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