Diaspora remittances can rebound nation’s economy — Gwadabe

Alhaji Aminu Gwadabe, the President of the Association of Bureau De Change Operators of Nigeria, says Diaspora remittances have the potential of rebounding the nation’s economy.
Gwadabe made the assertion in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to him, recent events at the foreign exchange market shows that the volume of foreign currencies sold to BDCs are largely from genuine proceeds of Nigerians living and working abroad.
He added that since the resumption of the sale of Diaspora Remittances to BDCs, the Naira had continued to consolidate its gains against other currencies.
The ABCON chief said recent developments in India, Lebanon and the United Arab Emirate showed that their economies were being propelled by Diaspora remittances.
He noted that relying on the nation’s foreign reserves for forex was putting undue pressure on the Naira, leading to its weakness against other currencies.
He commended the Central Bank of Nigeria for admitting BDCs into the new arrangement with Travelex and affirmed their commitment to ensure the transparency of the process.
He urged Nigerians to always buy their foreign currencies from BDCs since they were buying genuine forex at approved CBN rate.
Gwadabe said: “Nigerians should approach any BDCs for their Basic Travelling Allowance, Personal Travelling Allowance and their medical allowances.
“As BDCs, we have resolved to partner with regulatory authorities to ensure that the Naira continues to appreciate.”
Since the resumption of the sale of forex by Travelex, an International Money Transfer Organisation, the Naira had begun the journey to recovery.
The Nigerian currency had continued to consolidate its gains across all sectors of the forex market.
As at Tuesday, the Naira appreciated further at the parallel market, closing at N468 to the dollar from N470 it traded on Monday.
It also firmed against the dollar at the official interbank market to close at N304.71 from N310 last week.
Trading on the floor of the BDCs also showed that the Naira closed at N380 to the dollar.
Diaspora remittances are monies sent by Nigerians living abroad to Nigeria.
In 2015, Diaspora remittances to Nigeria stood at 21 billion dollars, making the country the sixth largest receiver of remittances in the world, the Migration of Remittance Factbook 2016 has shown.
It also showed that Nigeria had by far the largest receiver of remittances in sub-Saharan Africa, receiving a total of 34.8 billion dollars this year.
The Factbook was compiled by the Global Knowledge Partnership on Migration and Development, with support from the World Bank, German, Swedish and Swiss governments.