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BDCs: Suspend N35m capital base – Reps tell CBN

By BusinessNews Staff on June 28, 2014

The House of Representatives on Thursday summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emiefele, over the new capital base of N35m set for Bureau de Change operators.

The House, which asked the CBN to suspend the policy for now, directed its Committee on Banking and Finance to find out why Emiefele introduced such a policy.

The CBN governor is expected to meet with the committee at a session to be presided over by the chairman, Mr. Chukwudi Jones-Onyereri.

The resolution of the House came after members debated a motion on urgent public importance moved by a lawmaker from Zamfara State, Mr. Ibrahim Shehu-Gusua.

He had argued that the policy would cripple the economic wellbeing of many Nigerians employed in the informal sector.

Shehu-Gusua informed the House that the CBN recently increased the capital base of the BDCs by 25 per cent from N10m to N35m.

He said the policy also raised the licensing fee from N500,000 to N1m, and increased the annual renewal fee from N10,000 to N25,000.

Shehu-Gusua added that the fees were besides the application fee of N100,000.

“The House is worried that the increments are outrageous against the backdrop that the CBN will also reduce the amount of dollars being issued to the BDCs from $50,000 to $15,000 per week,” he stated.

The lawmaker accused the CBN of deliberately planning to compound the unemployment problems in the country through the introduction of the policy.

“This policy will send many youths engaged in the informal sector out of jobs. This policy has no human face and it is difficult to understand the purpose it will serve the Nigerian masses,” Shehu-Gusua added.

A member from Anambra State, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife, also opposed the policy.

According to her, at a period of growing social challenges in the country, many unemployed youths try to earn their daily living, using the BDCs.

“The timing is not right. Let the CBN suspend the policy for now until such a time when it is realisable,” she said.

The Chairman, House Committee on Education, Mr. Aminu Suleiman, observed that the policy implied that a BDC operator would require about N70m to be in business.

“This policy is not realistic and we appeal to the CBN to reverse it. We have received news from Lagos, Port Harcourt and Aba since yesterday that the blood pressure of a lot of people has risen because of this development,” Suleiman added.

[Punch]

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