Tag Archives: bdc

How fraud kingpin duped BDC operators – EFCC

Posted on by
1

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Tuesday narrated to the Federal High Court in Lagos how it apprehended the alleged kingpin of a fraud syndicate which specialised in duping Bureau De Change operators in the country.

The alleged kingpin, Princewell Eze, alias Aboki J. Brown, was brought before Justice Saliu Saidu on Tuesday, where he is being tried for an alleged fraud of $92,000.

The EFCC claimed that the accused duped one Akinlabi Akinpelu, a Bureau De Change operator, whose office was at Sura Market, Lagos Island sometime in 2013.

The prosecution told Justice Saidu that Eze approached  Akinpelu and falsely claimed to be an Assistant Director with the African Development Bank at Abidjan, Ivory Coast, who wanted to buy $65,000.

The defendant was said to have told the BDC operator to follow him with the $65,000 to a nearby bank where he would pay the naira equivalent of the foreign currency.

According to the prosecution, after further talks between the accused and BDC operator, Eze latter increased the amount of the foreign currency he wanted to buy to $92,000.

Led in evidence on Tuesday by the EFCC prosecutor, Mr. Rotimi Oyedepo, an EFCC operative, Odunayo Dada, said, “The complainant was convinced that the defendant was an Assistant Director with the African Development Bank. He released the money to the defendant and asked his dispatch rider to follow the defendant to a nearby bank. The dispatch rider entered the Hilux jeep that the defendant came with. But instead of driving to the bank, the defendant drove the dispatch rider to Lekki-Ajah Express Road where he and his gang members attacked the dispatch rider.”

CBN Increases BDC Weekly Supply To $50,000

Posted on by
9

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has increased the weekly supply of Bureau De Change (BDC) operators from licensed banks from 30,000 dollars to 50,000 dollars.

Mr Kennedy Uzoka, Group Managing Director (GMD) United Bank for Africa (UBA), disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while addressing a media conference on the outcome of the 328th Bankers’ Committee meeting.

He said that the increase was necessary based on the present prevailing circumstances where the available Forex in the market was not sufficient to meet the needs of Nigerians.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the CBN had recently issued a circular directing that banks that have been approved as International Money Transfers Operators (IMTSO) should sell foreign currency to the tune of 30, 000 dollars per week to licensed BDC operators.

Uzoka said that before the increase was made, there were lots of consultations by the CBN and the Bankers’ Committee based on the feedback received from the market which necessitated the increase.

Read More:

http://leadership.ng/business/546386/cbn-increases-bdc-weekly-supply-to-50000

lllegal BDCs Cause Foreign Exchange Rate Fluctuations – Gwadabe

Posted on by
1

Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, President, Association of Bureau de Change Operators in Nigeria, said unauthroised persons posing as Bureau de Change (BDC) operators caused rregular fluctuations in the parallel market.

 

Gwadabe said this in an interview with newsmen on Monday in Abuja.

 

This is coming after the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, had accused speculators and BDC operators of conniving to bring down the price of Naira in the foreign exchange market.

 

Gwadabe said the recent decision of the CBN to stop the sale of foreign exchange to BDC operators made the business unsustainable to its members, thereby leaving room for unauthorised dealers to flood the market.

 

“People think that BDC operators are making a lot of money these days. But it’s not true. People do not understand that there are a lot of participants in the parallel market.

“I can authoritatively tell you that about 80 per cent of all registered BDCs in the country have closed down since the CBN stopped the sale of dollar to BDCs.

“Right now, the unlicensed BDCs are currently more than the licensed ones all over the country. And their activities are not regulated because they are not registered.

“So right now, the market is in the hands of speculators and these unlicensed BDCs,’’ he said.

 

Gwadabe advised the CBN to come up with a robust, effective and efficient monitoring and supervision of all players in the market.

 

He also called on the CBN to audit big corporate institutions which he claimed had become major players in the foreign exchange market.

 

Gwadabe also confirmed that CBN had commenced the payment of about N96.5 billion to the 2,839 licensed BDC operators in the country.

 

He said the amount was part refund for their N35 million deposit at the CBN. He said, however, that the process was taking too long and the CBN should fast track it.

 

On a separate note, NAN reports that CBN has taken measures to improve the value of Naira at the parallel market.

 

It would be recalled that in recent times, the naira changed for N400 to a dollar and had been fluctuating between N300 and N395 ever since.

 

As at the time of filing this report, naira was changing for N315 to a dollar at the parallel market, and N197 to a dollar at the inter-bank rate.

 

An official of the bank, who pleaded anonymity, attributed it to the mop-up operations of the CBN which had reduced excess liquidity of Naira in circulation and made it relatively scarce.

 

“There was also the decision by CBN to maintain the supply of foreign exchange for school fees and medicals which earlier speculated removal from inter-bank rate eligibility had caused panic.

“Another reason is the rising cost and drop in demand for imported goods because a good number of Nigerians are beginning to switch consumption to local goo:;ds.

“These have had a significant fall in dollar demand,’’ the official said.

 

(NAN)

Naira Hits N335 To Dollar At Parallel Market

Posted on by
1

The naira on Friday exchanged at N335 to the dollar as the scarcity of the greenback worsened at the parallel market.

 

The naira lost N10 to exchange at N335 to the dollar, a depreciation of three per cent. It previously traded at N225 to the dollar.

 

Meanwhile, the official Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate remained at N197 to the dollar.

 

Traders at the market expressed worry at the increasing shortage of the greenback and urged the government to take immediate steps to stem the tide.

Akorede Shakir: Bukola Saraki; The “Facebook” Senate President

Posted on by
1

There is no valid objection to the fact that Nigeria, as a vast democratic nation with enormous tasks before her, has never experienced a full citizen-engaged parliament until this 16th year of its 4th Republic, exactly her centenary age. The most-talked-about 8th Senate since its inception on June 9 2015, till this eventful moment, has been marked by several distinguishing policies and actions that make the legislature somehow meeting up with requirements of the modern age.

 

The man of the moment, Senate President Senator Bukola Saraki, made a pledge to Nigerians that his leadership of the Senate will introduce transparency by adopting and encouraging e-parliament system of legislature. This is a call that must never be allowed to slip off his mind. I must emphasize.

 

Before the emergence of Saraki, it would be recalled that the teeming Nigerians on social media have frowned severally at the closed-door-manner at which the National Assembly is ran by predecessors. It was largely believed that making legislative activities of the upper and lower chambers hidden from the citizens negates the core values of democracy. As an intellectual protest against this act, the emergence of social media campaigns like #OpenNASS, most particularly, erupted and trended inevitably on all social media platforms. The reaction of the then Senate President, Senator David Mark, was so ridiculous to show that the Senate, in the previous dispensations, doesn’t understand the significance of social media in building an accessible legislature. According to an opinion published by Vanguard Newspaper, operations of the National Assembly (Before Saraki) were shrouded in secrecy.

 

Differently however, Saraki who has tasked the Senate Committee on Rules and Business to develop an e-Parliamentary system that can be employed at Senate Plenary sessions to permit public contributions, demonstrated what has been described as unprecedented “legislature-citizenry interaction” before, during and after the Ministerial Screening process. There’re multitudinous feedbacks on Twitter that would remain as attestation to this.

 

In the pursuit of attaining an absolute transparency, Saraki urged Nigerians on his online pages to partner with the Senate by suggesting prospective policies that would further assist the government on deliverance of dividends of democracy. A week after, the Senate President reported that the Senate received thousands of e-mails with in-depth reports, according his statement.

 

Even though it’s not agreeable that the whole of these is the height of what transparency is, it is totally not logical either to dispute that they’re practicable leaps towards it.

 

On this cause so far, it’s as if the Senate hasn’t taken any step yet, considering the amazing announcement by the Senate President that officials of that renowned social media platform, Facebook, would be led by their “Head of Public Policy for Facebook in Africa” to train Senators on holistic use of social media apps.

 

This, as a matter of fact, has generated a lot of online controversies, even among social media users (myself inclusive) who have lauded the innovative ideas of the 8th Senate. Aside the reckless extravagance, it’s just too flabbergasting to hear that Nigerian Senators don’t know how to operate Facebook! Don’t they have Media Aides? Some have asked angrily and mockingly. In his collections of Twitter reactions nevertheless, the Facebook Senate President clarified that the training demands “no single kobo” from the government.

 

If the disclaimer above could be true, one might agree with the statement by Mr. Bamikole Omishore, Special Assistant on New Media to the Senate President, that the decision is borne out of the wish to join the global community in the efficient way of using social media platforms to achieve modern e-legislature. “As a step in joining the global community in using the Social media platforms the right way, Head of Public Policy for Facebook in Africa will be coming to Nigeria with some of her colleagues to Train Nigerians Senators and their aides on effective use of the platform to engage Nigerians on formation of policies and to get undiluted feedback from their constituents”Omishore argued.

 

Let me state emphatically at this juncture that not all Nigerian Senators, even though it is presumed that they can all operate online social media, make committed use of it. A senator that I will give privilege of anonymity had once said: “hanging online exposes you to uncontrollable cyber criticism, incessant attacks among other associated troubles.”  If truly it is the belief of many government officials that abstinence from online platforms is the only way to avoid public assessment, it should be said frankly that such ideology is not only obsolete, but also detrimental to the realization of common goals, especially in a country where public protest isn’t well encouraged like Nigeria.

 

Mandela is very right in his word that “it always seems impossible until it is done.” If the use of social media has the required potential to transform governance in our country by fast-tracking productive civic engagement and making our representatives more accessible and accountable, as well as bringing about job opportunities as most Senators could subsequently set up ICT centres after the training, I will, to this end, have no reservations in giving encouragements to the leadership of the National Assembly.

 

Submissively, it should be re-iterated that there’s more to Facebook than posting pictures and passive posts, the use of its other integrated Apps is another world of ICT knowledge that’s worth learning. Without fear or favour therefore, the Facebook Senate President remains on track as far as revolutionizing the Senate is still the struggle.

 

God bless Nigeria!

Akorede Shakir

Email: akorive001@gmail.com Twitter: @akorive001

Views expressed are solely that of author and does not represent views of www.omojuwa.com nor its associates