Chairman of BUA Cement Plc, Dr Abdul Samad Rabiu, has commended the Central Bank of Nigeria’s foreign exchange reforms, stating that they have removed the need for companies to lobby for access to forex.

Rabiu made this disclosure during a media briefing after BUA Cement’s 9th Annual General Meeting in Abuja on Monday.

He described the current FX framework as more transparent and market-driven.

Rabuu contrasted it with past systems, which he said created artificial scarcity and compelled businesses to seek special favours to obtain dollars.

“I was making a joke a few weeks ago that I’ve only seen the current CBN Governor maybe twice since his appointment. That’s because I don’t need him. “Before now, I used to visit the CBN every two weeks to lobby for FX. That was the only way to survive,” Rabiu said.

He criticised the former foreign exchange system, where a wide gap between the official and parallel market rates created distortions and restricted access for many businesses.

“The rate was N500 or N600 officially, but nobody could get it. On the street, it was closer to N1,000. It was an artificial rate,” he said.

The BUA chairman praised the current reforms for unifying the market, adding, “Now, the rate you get is what everyone else gets. You go to the bank, you get FX at the market rate.”

Rabiu voiced confidence in the ongoing recovery of the naira, predicting that the exchange rate could improve to about N1,200 per dollar in the near future—an appreciable gain from the peak of nearly N2,000 earlier this year.

Rabiu noted that the strengthening naira is already helping to reduce the prices of commodities, including cement and food items.

Responding to concerns over cement prices, he attributed recent increases to high production costs driven by forex volatility, rising energy expenses, and the cost of imported equipment.

Despite these pressures, he said BUA has made efforts to keep prices stable.