The President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadebe, has raised concerns about the hardship that BDC operators face in accessing dollars for their operations.

In a chat with The PUNCH on Monday, Gwadebe said that following the suspension of the sale of dollars to BDCs by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the operators have to rely on walk-in customers to get dollars.

Earlier in the year, The PUNCH reported that the CBN issued new guidelines restricting Bureau de Change operators to purchasing a maximum of $25,000 per week from a single authorised dealer bank as part of efforts to regulate the retail foreign exchange market and enhance transparency. However, with the suspension, they have not been able to source dollars from banks.

Gwadebe told The PUNCH, “Well, we’re managing traditionally, so to say, hoping that when the CBN completes its reforms, at least things will improve.

Survival is not easy, like I said, because the only client you rely on now is even the walk-in customer, supposedly the one you are allowed to deal with.

“Until after the reforms, we cannot access oil companies; we cannot access domiciliary accounts. However, in the policies, all those issues have been addressed. But as of now, until they are implemented, that’s when we can begin to talk about having some liquidity.”

Amid this challenge, the BDC segment is also facing a recapitalisation mandate from the apex bank, a directive Gwadebe said BDC operators were already complying with.

“Recapitalisation is progressing. The CBN is accelerating the licensing process, and our members are forming partnerships and mergers to ensure they are not pushed out of business,” he said.

Under the fresh recapitalisation mandate, Tier-1 BDCs are required to raise a minimum capital of N2bn, while Tier-2 operators must provide N500m. Operators must also reapply for licences, with non-refundable fees set at N5m for Tier-1 and N2m for Tier-2. The CBN initially gave a six-month window for compliance, which expired in December 2024; it, however, granted an additional six months for compliance.

On the performance of the naira, especially the impact of Nigeria’s exit from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force, Gwadebe said, ‘Yes, there are so many factors making the naira stable and even appreciate. One of the recent ones is the announcement of Nigeria’s exit from FATF. We have seen a very strong appreciation. We had the dollar last week; Friday closed at N1,495, and today it’s doing N1,485. That is about a N10-to-a-dollar margin of appreciation. That is very good news, showing we have started seeing the impact of that announcement, which suggests confidence and positive remittances in terms of GDP and transaction volumes. Definitely, volumes will improve as the cost of transactions reduces.

“Also, it will help reduce the scrutiny of financial institutions trying to have engagements with other foreign destinations. We also know that the reserves have been increasing. So, there is also a buffer, which is like the arsenal of the Central Bank of Nigeria. We have also seen investment in the oil industry and good oil output because of the peace that has been observed in the Niger Delta. For me, the investment and output are incredible. I think the last figure I saw was about 1.8 million barrels per day.”

The ABCON president added that the combination of factors like collaboration and information-sharing among security agencies has also reduced the incidence of proceeds of crime being pushed into the FX market.

“I want to use this opportunity to congratulate Nigeria for the good things to come as a result of the exit from the FATF (grey) list, the party of criminals.”

The naira also appreciated at the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market to 1,452.79/$ on Monday from 1,457.95/$ on Friday, marking a 0.35 per cent strengthening.

The PUNCH reports that the decision to remove Nigeria from the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring was taken at the FATF October 2025 Plenary in Paris, France, following the country’s successful implementation of a 19-point action plan aimed at strengthening its Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism framework.

Nigeria was placed on the grey list in February 2023 after the FATF identified strategic deficiencies in its AML/CFT systems.

Nigeria’s exit has been hailed by multiple stakeholders, from the CBN to the Securities and Exchange Commission and other market players.