Nigeria’s current foreign exchange crisis appears to be shaking its economy and foundation as Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) are battling dollar shortages.
This was even as domiciliary account holders and recipients of diaspora remittances appear to be the most affected.
Daily Sun reports that the development could threaten the $10.11 billion diaspora remittances from Nigerians received between January and June 2022, representing a 9.6 percent increase compared to the $9.23 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2021.
Some bank customers who spoke to Daily Sun said that since last week, they have been unable to withdraw foreign exchange in their domiciliary accounts. At the same time, those with families and friends abroad cannot equally access the dollars sent to them.
One of the customers of a second-generation bank, Lekan Olawoyin, said the situation has become frustrating, even as he called on the relevant authorities to take urgent steps to address the problem of foreign exchange scarcity.
He said his efforts to access the $5000 in his account have been abortive since Tuesday, as only $1,500 was released to him after he visited three different branches of the bank.
‘‘I set out as early as 8am yesterday morning to be among the first customers to be attended to, but what I experienced shocked me. The teller at the Iju Road branch of the bank told me I could not access above $1,000 because there were no funds to match my request. I had no choice but to collect it.
The greatest shocker was at the bank’s Allen Avenue Branch in Ikeja, where I was told I could not get above $100. From there, I went to the Adeniyi Jones branch, where I was paid $200, and finally to the U-turn branch on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, where I got another $300.
REPORTERS AT LARGE earlier reported that at least eight Bureau de Change (BDC) operators have been arrested following the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) raid on the Wapa forex market in Kano.
