Worried by the altercations by operators and the regulator in the foreign exchange market, human rights group, Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), yesterday, asked the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to stand firm with its restructuring of Bureau De Change (BDC) operations, as it was the best option to defend the common man in the face dwindling government earnings.

The group, in a press conference in Lagos, said it was regrettable that the country runs a mono-product economy, where nearly 90 per cent of our foreign earnings are from the oil and gas industry while about 70 per cent of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is anchored on the industry character and dynamics.

The president of the group, Comrade Igho Akeregha, said that, with the drop in foreign exchange earnings, it would be “foolhardy to continue with a system that is clearly profligate and counter-productive, and rewards indolence and a few well-connected individuals within the sector”

He said the battles in the foreign exchange market is alarming, especially as it concerns the BDCs and the CBN, alleging that some cabals have taken stranglehold on the operations of the market. He accused some top public office holders, who use BDCs as fronts, of holding the economy to ransom and warned that if they do not desist from such schemes, they should get ready to have a day in the courts.

According to him, “These cabals, masquerading as BDC operators, have become blood-sucking merchants, heartless capitalists, whose eyes are primed at exterminating the common man, and are currently feeding fat on the misery and destruction of the entire nation as the Naira is continuously destabilized.

The organisation is constrained to alert Nigerians and other stakeholders of this present danger so that necessary actions will be taken to mitigate the impending national disaster.”

Noting that the masses have continued as a result of visionless shepherdary of state to pay heavily for their continued existence, he said that inflation is soaring presently into the double digits, which is a reality that has further exacerbated the plight of Nigerians.

“It is in the midst of this burgeoning hopelessness that the feud between Bureau De Change (BDC) operators and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) rages intensely.

“All these are based on the recent decline in the international prices of crude oil from the heights of over $120bpd to its present value that is below $30bpd and trending downwards with no hope of abating in the near future. Our revenue base has increasingly therefore become eroded if not almost wiped out as a result.

“What may therefore be available for this government today from crude export on daily basis may be less than $30m to run the affairs of the nation. The consequential fiscal insufficiency has diverse implications for the nation’s economy not only on inflation but serious implications for the value of the domestic currency — the Naira. This singular impact has negative multiplier effects on the nation’s inflation index and interest rates or cost of funds — the rate at which we all borrow from the banks when available to do our small businesses,” he added.