The outgoing chairman of Wuse Zone 4 traders association, a Bureau de Change traders group based in Abuja, Abdullahi Abubakar Dauran, has denied allegations that the association is setting up a parallel group to carry out terrorism financing and money laundering.

Recall that two National Dailies (excluding Daily Trust) reported that the Zone 4 traders were parading a new group different from the Association of Bureau de Change Operators (ABCON).

The report claimed that the Zone 4 group will launch a programme on January 15, 2025 at the Shehu Musa Yar’Adua Centre, Abuja, with key events for the day including the inauguration of newly elected executive council members to run the group which is expected to escalate forex trading in informal markets.

However, in a statement made available to the Daily Trust on Sunday, Dauran noted that the earlier reports were baseless, unfounded and mischievous, as the Zone 4 traders have no single record of such activities going on.

The statement reads in part: “As patriotic citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we are law-abiding people, and all our transactions are guided by the financial laws and regulations of the country.”

Dauran also said, “Where my name was mentioned by the two newspapers to have taken part in their report was completely false. I did not grant any such interview, and I can say categorically that those statements were concocted to suit their plans.

“Having served as chairman of the association for six years, it will be highly immoral and unfair for me to blackmail the Zone 4 association in that magnitude.”

Dauran appealed to the invited guests and the general public to ignore the baseless publication and turn up in their numbers to witness the inauguration of the newly elected executive council members.

He also gave the Nation and Independent newspapers 48 hours to withdraw the report and apologise to the association or face legal action.