Air passengers were thrown into confusion at the weekend when Bureau de Change (BDC) outlets at international airports nationwide declared foreign exchange, especially dollar, out of stock.

Notable BDCs like Travelex, Sulah, Bossy Clean Exchange and Ibro Resources that had often sold at about N400 to a dollar, all declared “no dollar” to all outbound passengers.

Intending passengers travelling on business trips were forced to devise alternative means to go on with their travel plans or simply returned home after loitering around the unyielding BDCs.

“It was through the same means that I bought a ticket from the U.S. There is no dollar here and the airline is not accepting naira for purchase. My method is funny, but otherwise I would still not be able to travel, as the visa will soon expire. It is so crazy around here. May God have mercy,” she said.
The President of the National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies (NANTA), Bernard Bankole, blamed the situation on artificial scarcity that should not have happened in an ideal setting.

According to Bankole, “There is no reason for this scarcity because the official rate has not moved and the rate we get tickets has not gone up either. The official rate is still at N305 or N306 and the black market is doing at N520 to N525. But the round tripping has increased. So, people are envisaging that there may be devaluation so that they can make more money. That is the unfortunate situation.

“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is holding the country to ransom, and it is a shame. I believe if they have lost how to manage their forex policy, they should just resign and go away, rather than put the whole nation to shame. Because that is exactly what we are seeing now,” he said.

https://guardian.ng/news/passengers-groan-under-dollar-scarcity-hoarding-at-airports/

Exchange Monitor
Currency Interbank Rate Parallel Rate
USD 306 518
GBP 379 635
EUR 325 542

Last Modified: February 20, 2017 at 9:27 am

>>>>>N1000 >>>>$1 ..........loading...

When SE and SS people tell una, una no hear...Tribalism, nepotism, and religious fanaticism...was ahead of rational thinking.