Business

Why 4,173 Bureau De Change Operators’ Licences Were Revoked – CBN

Published

2 years ago

March 2, 2024

The Central Bank of Nigeria on Friday revoked the licences of 4,173 Bureau De Change operators over their failure to meet regulatory guidelines.

The apex bank disclosed this in a statement by its acting Director, Corporate Communications, Sidi Hakama.

This means there will now be 1,517 operational BDCs from the initial 5,690.

However, the President, Association of Bureau De Change of Nigeria, Aminu Gwadabe, when contacted for comments on the development, told The PUNCH that he wanted to pray at some minutes before 8pm.

Subsequent calls to his line were not taken.

In the CBN statement, Hakama said the licence withdrawal was in exercise of the powers conferred on the apex bank by the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change, 2015.

The statement read in part, “The Central Bank of Nigeria, in the exercise of the powers conferred on it under the Bank and Other Financial Institutions Act, 2020, Act No. 5, and the Revised Operational Guidelines for Bureaux De Change, 2015, has revoked the licences of 4,173 Bureaux De Change Operators.

“The list of affected BDC operators is available on the Bank’s website (www.cbn.gov.ng).”

It added that the affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the regulatory provisions.

According to the statement, the regulatory provisions include payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period.

It added, “The affected institutions failed to observe at least one of the following regulatory provisions: Payment of all necessary fees, including licence renewal, within the stipulated period in line with the guidelines.

“Rendition of returns in line with the guidelines; compliance with guidelines, directives, and circulars of the CBN, particularly Anti-Money Laundering, Countering the Financing of Terrorism and Counter-Proliferation Financing regulations.

“The CBN is revising the regulatory and supervisory guidelines for Bureau de Change operations in Nigeria. Compliance with the new requirements will be mandatory for all stakeholders in the sector when the revised guidelines become effective.

“Members of the public are hereby advised to take note and be guided accordingly.”

Recall that the CBN had recently introduced a draft guideline for BDC operations across the country.

Major provisions introduced in the guidelines include the introduction of N2bn minimum share capital for Tier-1 BDCs, limiting buying and selling of forex in cash by BDCs to $500, and $10,000-year limit for school fees, among others.

Reacting to the development, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Dr Muda Yusuf, applauded the move to regulate the operations of the BDCs.

He said, “Definitely, revoking the licences of non-operational BDCs is the appropriate thing to do now. It is the right move because the previous number was difficult to manage and unwieldy.”

Business

Fuel Scarcity Looms As PENGASSAN Stops Gas, Crude Supply To Dangote Refinery

Published

4 hours ago

September 27, 2025

Editor

The industrial dispute between the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria took a dramatic turn on Saturday as the union ordered seven branches to cut off crude oil and gas supplies to the $20bn facility.

In a letter dated September 26 and signed by its General Secretary, Lumumba Okugbawa, the union accused the refinery’s management of sacking its members in retaliation for exercising their constitutional right to join the union.

The union’s move marks an escalation in the standoff, with PENGASSAN accusing the refinery of anti-labour practices and the unlawful sack of its members.

In the directive issued to its branch chairmen, PENGASSAN instructed its branch chairmen in key upstream and midstream oil companies, including TotalEnergies, Chevron, Seplat, Shell Nigeria Gas, Oando, and Nigerian Gas Infrastructure Company, to immediately cut off all crude oil and gas supplies to the refinery.

The directive comes after PENGASSAN alleged that Nigerian workers were sacked by Dangote Refinery after joining the union, claiming that management also withdrew staff buses and denied entry to locals while allowing expatriates access.

The union threatened to picket the refinery if the situation was not addressed.

In a statement on Friday, the refinery clarified that only a small number of workers were affected by what it described as a reorganisation aimed at preventing acts of sabotage within the facility. It said over 3,000 Nigerians remain in employment, rejecting claims of mass layoffs.

Dangote maintained that the restructuring was necessary after what it described as recurring acts of sabotage in different units of the refinery, which posed serious risks to human lives and operations.

As a result, PENGASSAN instructed its branches in TotalEnergies, Seplat, Chevron, Oando, Shell Nigeria Gas, Renaissance, and NGIC to cut gas supply to the refinery immediately.

The union described the move as “illegitimate” and accused the refinery of spreading misinformation instead of addressing the matter through dialogue.

“As you are aware, the Management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery has disengaged our members in reaction to the exercise of their constitutional right to being unionized.

“They have gone further on a mission of misinformation and propaganda to justify this illegitimacy rather than engaging meaningfully with us to right the wrong.

“Consequent to these, you are hereby directed to cut off gas supply to NGIC effective immediately. All crude oil supply valves to the Refinery should be shut. The loading operation for vessel headed there should be halted immediately,” the directive read.

The union further mandated the NGIC Chairman to ensure strict compliance with the order and told all branch chairmen to give regular updates on the action taken.

“NGIC Chairman, ensure that gas supply to the Refinery is cut off effective immediately. All chairmen on this summons are to report promptly the progress of the directive. Kindly accept the assurances of our highest esteem. Thank you,” the statement read.

Reaffirming its solidarity, PENGASSAN ended the directive with its slogan: “Injury to one! Injury to all!”

On Thursday, the company announced it would suspend petrol sales in naira from September 28 following the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocations.

Business

Fuel Price Hike Looms As Dangote Refinery Stops Petrol Sales In Naira

Published

12 hours ago

September 27, 2025

Editor

The Dangote Petroleum Refinery has announced the suspension of petrol sales in naira, unsettling marketers and raising fresh concerns over fuel pricing and foreign exchange pressure.

In an email sent to customers at 6:42 p.m. on Friday, the refinery said the decision would take effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025, citing the exhaustion of its crude-for-naira allocation as the reason.

The notice, titled “Suspension of DPRP PMS Naira Sales – Effective 28th September 2025” and signed by the Group Commercial Operations of Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals, also asked customers with ongoing naira-based transactions to formally request refunds.

“We write to inform you that Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals has been selling petroleum products in excess of our Naira-Crude allocations and, consequently, we are unable to sustain PMS sales in Naira going forward,” the statement read.

“Kindly note that this suspension of Naira sales for PMS will be effective from Sunday, 28th of September, 2025. We will provide further updates regarding the resumption of supply once the situation has been resolved.

“All customers with PMS transactions in Naira who would like a refund of their current payments should formally request the processing of their refund.”

The move comes amid a raging dispute between the refinery and labour unions over the alleged mass sack of more than 800 Nigerian workers. This controversy has drawn public outrage and calls for government intervention.

This is the second time the refinery has halted local currency transactions. In March 2025, it briefly suspended sales of refined products in naira, blaming inadequate allocations under the crude-for-naira programme.

Business

Naira Appreciates Massively Against US Dollar In The Black Market, Highest In 15 Months

Published

2 days ago

September 25, 2025

Editor

The naira appreciated massively against the United States dollar at the parallel foreign exchange market.

Abubakar Alhasan, a Bureau De Change operator in Wuse Zone, Abuja, told DAILY POST that the Naira strengthened significantly to N1,490 per dollar on Wednesday, up from N1,520 on Tuesday.

“We buy at N1480 and sell at N1490 on Wednesday due to lower FX demand,” Alhasan confirmed to newsmen.

This means that the Naira gained N30 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis.

The last time they were exchanged at this level in the black market was in June 2024.

Meanwhile, at the official market, it dropped marginally by N1.19 to N1,488.56 per dollar on Wednesday, down from N1,487.37, according to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria.

Analysing the trend at both markets, the difference between official and parallel markets has shrunk to 1.44.

Recall that on Tuesday, the Naira appreciated across official and parallel foreign exchange markets upon an interest rate cut by the apex bank by 50 basis points to 27 per cent.