The Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) has called for Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC’s) guidance and collaboration in harmonising the peer-to-peer (P2P) forex sector in the country.
In an official visit to the new SEC director-general, Dr. Timi Agama, the president of Association of Bureau de Change Operators of Nigeria ( ABCON), Aminu Gwadabe, congratulated the SEC D-G on his appointment by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and quickly highlighted that SEC regulates the sector that is a threat to the continued existence of BDCs in Nigeria through online virtual transactions platforms which gives access to millions of Nigerians to trade in foreign exchange without trace and accountability.
He also explained that ABCON has invested in requisite technology to ensure the continued existence of the business and preserve the integrity of the sub-sector. He opined that the future of BDC’s business is digital currency.
The national president of ABCON said the meeting with the SEC DG and the present executive board of the SEC was a follow up on the earlier online virtual consultation.
Gwadabe explained that ABCON is the umbrella body for all licensed retail foreign exchange dealers established in 1991 to liaise with regulators, relevant stakeholders and security agencies for a transparent retail end forex market.
Gwadabe said, “As at today, there are over 34 million Nigerians dealing in digital currency and the number is rising by about 9 per cent with a huge market of $9 billion annually.
There are thousands of multichannel virtual currency FX platforms and none is indigenous to Nigeria, adding that P2P represents individual to individual transaction.
“To automate the entire foreign exchange retail market, ABCON has partnered with the Commodities Exchange Board, in building the platform knowing that they have sources of foreign exchange. ABCON is willing to work with SEC towards achieving full automation of the retail end of the foreign exchange market in Nigeria.
ABCON’s technical partner Oluwasegun Kosemani, thanked the SEC DG and his intelligently experienced SEC team which had Mr Wale Ajomale for their warm reception and listening to ABCON while making it known to SEC that much resources had been allocated to the research and development of the platform and that ‘we are working on collaborating with every emerging verifiable blocks of the blockchain and cryptocurrency ecosystem in Nigeria like BICCoN, CDIN, SIBAN, DCC, Bitcoin organisations, local peer to peer exchanges and merchants etc.’