Scarcity of foreign exchange, particularly the dollar, is threatening operations of Bureau de Change (BDC) business in Kwara as volume of business being transacted by operators has drastically fallen.

A check by a News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Correspondent on the BDC outlets in Ilorin on Friday showed that many of them were under lock and key.

A cross section of the operators said the business climate since CBN stopped funding BDCs had been unfavourable. One of the operators, Mr Abdullahi Chindo, decried the unavailability of Forex in the open market and commercial banks.

"We are finding it difficult to access dollar, though some of us have suppliers who bring the dollar from neighbouring countries; the situation is having a toll on our business.

"The handwriting is on the wall; many BDC operators in the state will be chased out of business because of the prevailing situation," he said. Chindo said most operators in the state buy the dollars from customers at the rate N303 per dollar and sell at N305 to a dollar.

Similarly, Alhaji Hassan Maina lamented that most operators in the state had run out of stock. "We are only relying on the customers but the best measure is for the CBN to lift the ban on the sale of foreign currencies to BDCs.

"The CBN cannot justify its actions because we control less than five per cent of the Forex market value. "Whatever imperfection is in the market, it is a wrong approach for the CBN to say it will no longer fund BDCs," Maina said.

He stressed that trading in foreign currency was a market driven by demand and supply.

Maina added that by reducing dollar supply to the market, naira would fall against the dollar within the next few months, unless the policy was reversed.

The CBN, which hitherto sold 10,000 dollars to BDC operators each, withdrew its service to them as part of measures to conserve foreign exchange and stabilise the Naira.

The bank accused many of the BDCs of aiding the importation of restricted goods through the sale of Forex to unauthorised businessmen.