NIGERIA TO KNOW FATE IN SEPTEMBER

CATEGORY 1 RE-CERTIFICATION

Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has kicked against the amendments to the new requirements for Bureau De Change (BDC) operations, saying it is an indirect attempt to empower few operators  in the sub-sector and consequently force  many of the BDC operators into liquidation.

Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amended the new requirements for BDC operations announced on June 23rd.
Under the new regime, deadline for compliance was increased to July 31st, while the mandatory caution deposit of N35 million would now attract interest at savings account rate.

President of the Association, Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe said though ABCON appreciates the  amendments  and also supports meaningful and achievable reforms in the sub-sector but the amendments are far from the recommendations made by the Association during a meeting with the CBN Governor and its Executive Council on July 1st.
 “We recommended that the new minimum capital base be reduced to N15 million, while deadline for compliance should not be less than one year as it is the tradition of the CBN in any recapitilsation  exercise.

“We also recommended that the mandatory caution deposit should be eliminated as there is no justification for such deposit. BDCs are not deposit taking organisations, we operate on cash and carry basis. We pay for CBN dollars two days in advance. So there is no need for such deposits,” Gwadabe said. He said ABCON also rejects the  decision of the apex bank to limit the weekly dollar sale to BDCs that meet the new requirements by July 31st, saying it  will bring back the activities of black market and incidence of fake currency in  circulation.

Gwadabe recalled that BDCs were  able to abolish such market infractions as a result of their involvement as part of monetary tool of the CBN in 2006  during the tenure of the former CBN Governor.
The policy he argued, will give banks the opportunity to  hijack the weekly dollar sales to BDCs.

Before CBN started selling dollars to BDCs in 2006, banks were not interested in BDC business. But as soon as the dollar sale started, they saw it as an avenue to make cheap profit, and pressurized the CBN to categorized the sub-sector into Class “A” and Class “B” BDCs he explained.

CBN had earlier fixed the minimum capital requirement for Class “A”  BDCs, mostly owned by banks and money bags,  at N500 million, and they were allowed to buy $1 million per week, while Class “B”  BDCs  with N10 million minimum capital requirement, were allowed to buy just $50,000 per week. The ABCON boss said that was how the CBN allowed the banks and money bags to hijack the dollar sales to BDCs in 2009.

“This, we believe is what will happen once  the CBN limits  dollar sales to BDCs that meet the N35 million minimum capital requirement, and mandatory caution deposit.  it is an indirect way of handing over the weekly dollar sales to banks and money bags, who had no interest in BDC business until CBN started selling dollars to BDCs.”

NIPC Restates Commitment to Corporate Governance 
By Gbola Subair - Abuja
The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Mrs. Saratu Umar, has reiterated her commitment to make the commission the standard of excellence and international best practices on the continent as well as a world class investment promotion agency comparable to any in the world through sound corporate governance practices.

 Mrs. Umar, who received the council members of the board of Institute of Directors (IoD) during a courtesy call in her office, noted that for an organisation to succeed and realise its set objectives, corporate governance must be evolved, hence “I have made corporate governance as number one out of the 12 pillars of my vision to reposition the commission and move it to greater heights…I hope to work with you in this regard.”

She commended the Institute of Directors for its vision to host a conference on “Imperatives of Good Governance in Promoting Investment Opportunities” in Nigeria in October and promised the commission’s willingness to participate in the conference.

The NIPC chief executive also expressed her commitment to excellence, professionalism, collaboration and team work as she promised to partner with the Institute of Directors in the identification of directors that might be used by investors in the course of setting up their businesses in the country or for the purpose of Joint Venture Partnership (JVP).

She commended them for the visit and promised to make the directors of the commission to identify with the institute and also make the institute participate in the commission’s activities, especially during business and investment for a.
Earlier, the president and chairman of the council Institute of Directors (IoD), Mrs. Eniola Fadayomi, who led some members of the council on the visit, stated that all stakeholders in the Nigerian economy need to fully embrace corporate governance with particular focus on responsibility, integrity, accountability, transparency, self-regulation and effective internal control systems.

She stated that the IoD is the leading voice of corporate governance in Nigeria and, therefore, urged all organisations and stakeholders to take significant advantage of the corporate governance and leadership programmes offered by the institute.

She further stated that “Given the mandate of the institute and the expectation of the Nigerian business community we are in the commission to seek for partnership in training directors and senior management staff on development and corporate governance practice and to encourage the directors to join the institute.”