CBN goes tough on e-banking fraud, to blacklist customers

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said it is working on a policy that will ensure that bank customers involved in electronic fraud are either blacklisted or placed on close surveillance.
The bank’s Director, Banking and Payment System, Mr. ‘Dipo Fatokun, said this at the October edition of the Nigeria e-Fraud Fraud Forum (NeFF) held in Lagos at the weekend.
Fatokun, who is the chairman of NeFF, said the Bank Verification Number (BVN) would also be used in identifying fraudsters in the industry.
“We are currently working on a framework using the BVN to eliminate fraudsters. One common thing about electronic fraud is that when money is moved from an account, it is moved into another bank account. So, identifying the owner of that fraudulent account using the BVN, we would not only be able to identify him or her in the bank in which he has moved the money to, we would also identify him in all the banks where he has accounts and when legal impediments are overcome, such people could be blacklisted or watchlisted in the banking system.

Senate vows to sustain NLNG’s legacy

The Chairman Senate Committee on Gas, Senator Bassey Albert Akpan, has promised that his committee will do all in its power to sustain the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Limited legacy and encourage the entrenchment of the NLNG business model in other parts of the Nigerian economy.
This was contained in a statement on Tuesday by the company’s General Manager, External Relations, Dr. Kudo Eresia-Eke.
Akpan made the call when he led members of the committee on an oversight visit to the NLNG facility in Bonny on Monday.
Other members of the 11-person Senate team included Senators Bassey Albert Akpan Barnabas Gemade, Rose Oko Okoji, Rilwan Adesoji Akanbi, Danjuma Laah, Francis Alimikhena, Matthew Urhogide and Bubakar Moallahyidi.
They all commended the NLNG model and assured NLNG’s Senior Management of their continued support to promote and sustain the company’s successful operations.
Speaking after a business presentation by the NLNG’s General Manager Production, Tayo Oginni,

Senate approves bill to end business monopolies

The Senate has approved a bill seeking to end all forms of business monopolies in Nigeria and promote trade competition in the 36 states of the federation.
The upper legislative chamber, therefore, approved scrapping of the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) and ratified its replacement with the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
Passing the bill sponsored by Senator Andy Uba (PDP, Anambra South), yesterday, through a second reading, the Senate directed its Committee on Trade and Investment to conclude all legislative work on the issue and report back within four weeks.
The Federal Government, meanwhile, is ecstatic that it’s reforms for instituting a vibrant business environment may have started yielding dividends, as Nigeria’s ranking in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business remains static, halting a falling trend in the past years.
A statement signed by Laolu Akande, Senior Special Assistant to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, yesterday, said the latest 2017 report released Tuesday, October 25, and which ranked Nigeria 169

Adeosun opens London Stock Exchange, says Nigeria has low debt-GDP ratio

Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive Officer, London Stock Exchange (LSE); Chinelo Anohu-Amazu, Director General, National Pension Commission (PENCOM); Greg Hands, UK Minister for International Trade; Kemi Adeosun, Honourable Minister of Finance, Federal Republic of Nigeria; Oscar N. Onyema, OON, Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE); Haruna Jalo-Waziri, Executive Director, Capital Markets Division, NSE at the Opening Bell Ceremony of the London Stock Exchange to kick off the 3rd London and Lagos Capital Markets in Partnership Conference organized by the Nigerian Stock Exchange and London Stock Exchange in London on Friday.

Nigeria’s minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, on Friday opened the London Stock Exchange (LSEG) to celebrate the business ties between Nigeria and UK, while promoting the 3rd ‘London and Lagos Capital Markets in Partnership’ conference.
The minister, who was joined by Greg Hands, a member of the UK parliament and the UK minister of state for international trade, said Nigeria is good for business.
Adeosun, who explained how Nigeria intends to fund its budget deficit, said Nigeria’s low-interest lending rate remains on course. She said the country has a headroom for borrowing, since it has a low debt-to-GDP ratio.
Speaking on Nigeria, Hands said: “I know from my own time in Nigeria that the UK and Nigeria have long enjoyed a close and prosperous business relationship.
“The UK is one of Nigeria’s largest investors and the government is committed to boosting trade between our two countries.
“We are actively helping British companies export to Nigeria and Nigerian businesses to locate

At N300/dollar, no need for fresh devaluation – Emir Sanusi

The Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Muhammad Sanusi II, has said that the naira, at 300 to a dollar, needs no fresh devaluation.
Sanusi said all the CBN needs to do is to make the Bureau de Change (BDC) segment of the market liquid, and watch the gap between official and parallel market close, with investors bringing in more forex.
“My public position is that if the Central Bank can improve on its management of foreign exchange, provide liquidity to the parallel market, get a convergence between the BDC rate and the official rate, also keep these yields where they are, that will help to attract the foreign exchange that we need to stabilize in the short term,” he told Daily Trust.
“While I think the naira is undervalued, certainly if you look at the purchasing power parity, when you look at the nominal exchange rates, when you look at the rate of inflation, it stands to agree that even at 300, the naira will be slightly undervalued.

CBN sells $313 million in forward auction

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has sold about 313 million Dollars, in a two-month forward auction to clear a backlog of Dollar demand.
This is the third of such auctions since the launch of the forwards market in June 2016.

German firm declines offer to print new Zimbabwe currency

A German company has refused to print Zimbabwe’s controversial new currency forcing President Robert Mugabe’s government to delay its introduction amid worsening cash shortages.
The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe (RBZ) announced in May that it will introduce bond notes that will be at par with the United States dollar to address liquidity challenges.
RBZ governor John Mangudya, who initially announced that the notes would be in circulation by October, said a German company had been given the printing contract.
The launch of the ‘surrogate currency’ was moved to next month and on Friday a leading business newspaper in Zimbabwe revealed that the delays were caused by Giesecke and Devrient’s refusal to print the notes.
Giesecke and Devrient printed the Zimbabwe dollar until the country abandoned the currency in 2009 after it was ravaged by 500 billion percent inflation.
The German embassy in Harare confirmed that the company had refused to print the new currency.
“According to the information that we have from the said company, it will not print bond notes for

Wema Bank expends N221m on judiciary archive

Wema Bank Plc has raised support for the Lagos State Government and the Justice Research Institute Limited with N20 million to deliver a world-class archiving service aimed at transforming record management in the Lagos State High Court.
In a bid to address the deteriorating state of the Lagos High Court archives, the Lagos State Judiciary and the Justice Research Institute, a private limited liability company, partnered to create a joint venture, the Lagos Archives and Property Litigation Registry (LAPLR).
Apart from the N20 million funding by Wema Bank, the Bank also granted LAPLR a Project Finance Facility to the tune of N201 million.
The Managing Director of Wema Bank, Segun Oloketuyi, while speaking at the launch of the archives at the Lagos State High Court, noted that the bank identified the need to have a credible source of information on land and property that are subject to litigation in Lagos State, hence the

FG to target other sectors for revenue – FIRS

The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has said the current paradigm shift in Nigeria’s economy calls for attention and concerted efforts towards the development of other critical sectors of the economy for the much-needed revenue.
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Babatunde Fowler, who was recently elected President of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) in Pretoria, South Africa in his remarks said without any doubt, the creative industry has opened new frontiers and economic opportunities in terms of wealth creation, knowledge economy, employment generation, local capacity utilisation and revenue generation; with huge potential to leapfrog into emerging high-growth economy.
Fowler, who was represented at the occasion by Mr. Kola Okwola noted, “that the extent to which an economy is able to grow sustainably and develop depends to a large extent, on its ability to generate tax revenue to finance its expenditure and the efficiency of its tax system.

Power sector loses N549bn yearly to gas constraints

Nigeria’s power sector is losing an average of N549 billion yearly to gas supply challenges. The situation has continued to deprive the country of over 2,479 Mega Watts (MW) daily.
According to the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI), the sector is losing an estimated N1.525 billion daily due to power generation constraints.
Further analysis showed that losing N1.525 billion daily to lack of gas to power plants, translated to N45.75 billion monthly.
NESI said, in its daily power generation analysis, that the country recorded line constraint of 394.5MW and high-frequency constraints of 303MW as at October 12, 2016. It explained that the revenue losses were calculated using a net, average and levelised tariff of N20/kWh. The agency stressed that in gross terms, this implies average end-user tariffs of circa N32/kWh inclusive of all Aggregate Technical and Commercial losses (ATC&C) and export sales if one adopts the

Dollar scarcity: Banks suspend ATM card usage abroad

Deposit Money Banks have begun suspending their Automated Teller Machine cards (debit and credit) from working overseas as dollar scarcity continues to hit the economy badly.
Stanbic IBTC Bank, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria and Guaranty Trust Bank on Friday announced the suspension of their overseas ATM card services.
Also suspended by the banks are online transactions priced in foreign currencies. This means that customers of the banks will no longer be able to use their debit or credit cards to make online transactions that are denominated in dollars, euros, pounds sterling and other foreign currencies.
In a note to its customers on Friday entitled: ‘Suspension of international transactions on naira debit cards’, Standard Chartered Bank Nigeria said, “Please be informed that effective immediately, your naira denominated debit cards will no longer be functional for international transactions.
“This is due to the current volatility in the foreign exchange market. Your naira-denominated debit cards can only be used for local transactions at Point of Sale terminals, Automated Teller Machines and online for Nigerian retailers.”
In a text message to its customers on Friday, Stanbic IBTC Bank similarly said, “Dear customer,

GE confirms $2 billion investment in Nigeria

General Electric has confirmed its interest in investing $2 billion on Nigerian railway concession project worth around $2 billion.
President Muhammadu Buhari said in his 1 October anniversary speech that GE would be investing $2.2 billion in a concession to revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage some of the country’s railways.
Given the size and scope of the proposed project, it is likely that the debt and equity commitments required from lenders, consortium partners and other co-developers will be in the range of $2

Gombe govt workers to get home renovation loan

The Gombe State government has perfected plans to begin home renovation loans to its civil servants.
To this end, the Head of Gombe civil service Dr. Deniel Mohammed Musa, said the state government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) to provide a platform for home renovation loan scheme.
While speaking in Gombe in his office recently, Musa explained that the MoU will create an avenue for civil servant to access a new package brought to them by the bank.

2 Nigerian banks close to insolvency, deficit – Analysts

Two Nigerian Banks are close to being insolvent, while two others “will need a dilutive capital hike,” Jaap Meijer and Tarek Sleiman, analysts at Arqaam Capital, Dubai-based investment bank and brokerage told Bloomberg yesterday.
According to the analysts in an e-mailed note, Capital ratios are set to worsen in the country’s banking system because of currency depreciation and souring loans. Calls to one of the banks were not immediately returned and the other did not reply to questions.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in July replaced the management of Skye after the lender breached liquidity thresholds, spurring concerns about the health of small- and medium-sized lenders, and reviving memories of bank rescues by the government after the financial crisis in 2009.
Nigerian banks are grappling with a devaluation of the naira, rising bad loans and an

Emefiele, Adeosun allay concern over disharmony between CBN, Finance Ministry

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has said there is no disharmony between the bank and Ministry of Finance.
Speaking at a press briefing in Washington DC, United States, Emefiele said both the monetary and fiscal authorities were working hand-in-hand to get the much desired growth needed to get Nigeria out of recession, and towards much needed growth.
In September, the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said the fiscal authorities were in need of low interest rates, to reduce the cost of borrowing.
However, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN, against Adeosun’s request, held interest rates at 14 per cent, signalling some disunity between fiscal and monetary authorities.
According to The Cable, both Adeosun and Emefiele said there was no such disharmony, as that both authorities were working to achieve the same goal of driving growth.
“Just because the monetary policy committee finds themselves in a situation where they are

Emefiele promises review of forex policy to stimulate real sector

Nigeria’s prostrate industrial sector may soon get some fresh impetus as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, has promised to review some aspects of the bank’s flexible exchange rate policy to allow more manufacturers and other end users more access to foreign exchange, after nearly two years of embargo on importers of 41.
Emefiele, who spoke in Washington DC, USA, after crucial sessions with foreign investors and other stakeholders including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Bank Group, noted that though the flexible exchange rate policy was commended by several stakeholders at the meetings, there may be need still to review some aspects of it in the months ahead, to boost job creation and manufacturing capacity. The policy change option was coming amidst huge job and capacity losses in the manufacturing and other critical sectors of the economy since its introduction on June 23, 2015.
“We heard the IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde, saying there is need to consider further

NSE market indices record growth

The market indices of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Monday recorded marginal growth, appreciating by 0.32 per cent due to marginal gains posted by some blue chips.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the market capitalisation grew by N31 billion or 0.32 per cent to close at N9.591 trillion against N9.560 trillion achieved on Friday.
Also, the All-Share Index, which opened at 27,835.22, improved by 89.78 points to close at 27,925.00.
A breakdown of the price movement chart showed that Nigerian Breweries led the gainers’ table growing by N2.21 to close at N148.01 per share.
Lafarge Africa followed with a gain of N1.80 to close at N49, while Guaranty Trust Bank gained 45k to close at N23.90 per share.
Zenith Bank increased by 32k to close at N14.55 and Union Bank of Nigeria appreciated by 24k to

Aisha Buhari warns against sale of interest-free loan forms

Wife of President Muhammadu Buhari, Aisha, has warned those selling the interest-free loan forms at the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs to “desist from sabotaging the programme and allow the Nigerian women feel the change mantra.”

Cross River plans N1.3trn investment

Governor Ben Ayade has drawn an ambitious economic ‘road-map’ of about N1.3 trillion for Cross River State.
Ayade stated this at the weekend during a meeting with a cross section of traditional rulers from the 18 local councils of the state who visited him in Calabar, the capital.
He said the projected amount was expected to come from both local and foreign investors who are

Global firm to begin manufacturing in Nigeria

The world’s largest tobacco company, Philip Morris International (PMI), with operations in 181 countries, has finalised plans to commence manufacturing in Nigeria before the end of 2016.
The investment comes in less than two years of their starting operations in Nigeria and clearly indicates the confidence the company has in the economy.
Upon its entry to Nigeria last year, PMI took the opportunity provided by the ECOWAS Trade

Nigerian-German bilateral trade nose dive by 50% in 2015

The volume of bilateral trade between Nigeria and Germany has decreased from 5.4 billion Euros in 2014 to 2.9 billion Euros in 2015, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, German Minister of Foreign Affairs, has said.
Steinmeier, who announced this on Monday at the end of Bi-National Commission between the German delegation and Nigerian counterparts, however, expressed worry over the 50 per cent decrease.
The Nigerian delegation at the meeting was led by Nigerian Foreign Affairs Minister, Geoffrey Onyeama.
Steinmeier said Nigeria remained Germany’s second most important economic partner inn Sub Saharan Africa.
He said that there was the need to strengthen on this development in the interest of both countries.
Steinmeier said: “Both sides believe that open markets are the most important prerequisite for free and rules-based trade to everyone’s mutual advantage.

Naira consolidates its gain against dollar

The Naira on Monday consolidated its gain against the dollar at the forex market, the News Agency of Nigeria reports.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that since the resumption of the sale of Diaspora remittances to Bureau De Change by Travelex, the Naira had continued to appreciate.
At the official inter bank market, the Naira closed at N304.75 from N306.71 posted on Friday.
It firmed against the dollar and other currencies at the parallel market as it closed at N470, N580 and N510 from N473, N590 and N512 posted on Friday.

Nigeria’s economic challenges pose risk to other West African countries – IMF

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the decline in Nigeria’s economic growth, if not reversed timely, may have a spillover effects in other economies in West Africa.
IMF’s Assistant Director/Head, Fiscal Policy and Surveillance, Catherine Pattillo, said this while responding to a question during a media briefing on the Fiscal Monitoring Report at the ongoing IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington DC.
In another development, several members of the House of Representatives have called for the removal and replacement of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for the continuous depreciation of the Naira.
The Nigerian economy is in recession. The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently revealed that the country’s GDP contracted by 2.06 per cent in the second quarter of 2016, compared to the negative growth of 0.36 per cent recorded in the first quarter of 2016.
“As you know, Nigeria is a very important economy in the region and its success has positive spillover for the region, particularly in West Africa and its challenges then creates difficulties for

Nigeria drops to 127th place on WEF’s Global Competitiveness Index

Nigeria has dropped three places to the 127th position on the latest World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Global Competitiveness Index (GCI) for 2016-2017, out of 138 countries surveyed. The country was previously ranked 124th on the index.
At 127th position, Nigeria only performed better than Madagascar, Yemen, Venezuela, Congo DR, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi, Mozambique, Chad, Mauritania and Malawi.
The report, which was released wednesday by WEF, showed that Nigeria ranked lowest in health and primary education, and was greatly affected by a weaker macroeconomic environment.
“Nigeria is among the African economies hardest hit by the reduction in commodity prices, falling three places to 127th overall,0 almost entirely due to its weaker macroeconomic environment (down 27 places) and financial sector (down 10 places).
“Although still relatively low, the government deficit has almost doubled since last year and national savings have significantly suffered, worsening the current account position.
“Banks are less solid, reducing the availability of credit; despite the central bank ending its currency peg, financial authorities have retained restrictions on access to the interbank market,

PwC hits $35.9bn gross revenue in FY2016

The PricewaterhouseCooper (PwC) network yesterday reported total global gross revenues of $35.9billion for the fiscal year ended on 30 June 2016. With the record revenue, PwC’s total global revenues rose by over seven per cent.
Chairman of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Ltd, Bob Moritz, said the revenue growth in FY16 across all major markets and businesses is testament to their fundamental purpose of building trust and solving problems.
Moritz said: “The strength of our brand, the opportunities we provide for our people, the quality of our services and our focus on meeting the needs of our stakeholders are at the heart of PwC and how we measure our success.
“To secure future growth, we are investing heavily in technology to enhance the quality and impact of our services and make the best use of the skills of our people. The world is changing

Global banks fight back on Brexit, warn $51 billion at stake

Britain crashing out of the European single market could cost banks and associated businesses in the U.K. almost 40 billion pounds ($51 billion) in lost revenue, undermining a key sector of the economy, an industry report will warn on Wednesday.
Finance firms are making a fresh bid for special status in upcoming Brexit negotiations with the EU after U.K. government officials this week indicated banks would get no favors. The report, prepared by Oliver Wyman on behalf of TheCityUK lobby group, warns that almost 70,000 jobs and 10 billion pounds of tax revenue are at risk from a so-called hard Brexit, according to two people familiar with its contents.
Prime Minister Theresa May has ruled out prioritizing protection of the banks in Brexit talks and has dismissed their key business demand for an interim deal to help ease the transition out of the bloc, Bloomberg News reported Monday, citing three government officials. Finance executives have threatened to move jobs if Britain doesn’t secure a deal allowing them to serve European

Nigeria will soon close $4bn investment deal with China – Kachikwu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said that Nigeria will soon close the deal on a $3 billion to $4 billion loan from China that will be channelled towards the provision of infrastructure in the oil and gas sector.
Kachikwu made the disclosure at the end of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held in the State House, Abuja wednesday, adding that the loan was a fallout of the July roadshow held by the petroleum ministry and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in China.
Briefing State House reporters alongside the Ministers of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; Interior, Abdurahman Danbazzau; and Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola, Kachikwu also revealed that over 40 Chinese investors would be visiting Nigeria by the end of the month, explaining that the memoranda of understanding (MoUs) signed during the road show generally have a gestation period of about one year, as both countries set up their teams on a bilateral basis to look at specific areas of investment interests.

Ericsson slashes 3,900 jobs

Swedish telecom equipment maker, Ericsson, announced on Tuesday plans to slash 3,000 jobs in production, research and development and sales and some 900 consultants in Sweden.
Ericsson said, in a statement, the slash was due to a tough global market.

Hajj: Medview Airline rounds off operations with 772 pilgrims

Medview Airline completed the airlift of Pilgrims for the 2016 Hajj back to Nigeria yesterday with a successful airlift of about 772 pilgrims.
The airline last two flights for the NAHCON assignment arrived Port Harcourt International airport and Kaduna International airport respectively on Monday.
The flight to Port Harcourt had 452 pilgrims from Rivers, Edo, Delta , Abia, Anambra, Imo, Ebonyi and Cross River states while that of Kaduna had 320 pilgrims on board.
While giving praise to Allah for a successful Hajj operations, the Managing Director/CEO of the airline Alhaji Muneer Bankole commended NAHCON and the Federal Government for the necessary structures put in place to ensure a hitch-free Hajj exercise.
He also commended the Federal Government for all the efforts it is making to bring about peace and stability in all parts of the country.
Medview airline deployed 3 wide body aircraft – B747-300, B777-200 and B767-300 for the hajj operations.

Industrialisation, as leeway out of recession – Olagunju

The Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry, Waheed Olagunju, has said that the industrialisation is the best way to diversify the economy.
Speaking at the 32nd Omolayole Management Lecture in Lagos, he emphasised that industrialisation, value-addition and processing will foster a higher quality of life for Nigerians.
Giving an analysis of the economy in the past 56 years, he said Nigeria is not occupying its rightful position compared with other countries with fewer natural resources.
Comparing the economy of Mexico with the Nigerian economy, he said that between the mid-70s and 2014, Mexico had diversified its economy away from oil with 80 per cent of its revenue coming from the manufacturing sector in 2014, against 20 per cent it generated from the sector in the mid-70s.
For Nigeria, he stated that its dependence on crude oil exported which accounted for 90 per cent of it revenue in the mid- 70s had remained the same till 2014.

Ride-sharing company Juno looks to raise $50m in biggest fundraising round

Juno Inc, a startup looking to attract drivers from bigger ride-sharing rivals such as Uber Technologies Inc by offering them its own stock, is seeking $50 million in its biggest fundraising round to date, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Investors have poured more than $28 billion into the ride services sector over the past decade, propelling growth at Uber, Lyft Inc, China’s Didi Chuxing Technology Co and a host of smaller upstarts, such as Gett.
Economists have said there may be scope for even more competition, because ride-sharing services are relatively cheap to start, depend on contract labor with no inherent loyalty or specialized skills, and have free apps that can be downloaded in seconds.
Juno is working with investment bank Mizuho Financial Group Inc to find investors, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential.
The person said Juno had previously raised $30 million from companies such as Japan’s Rakuten Inc and angel investors.

I’m not interested in buying NLNG, other national assets even on credit – Dangote

Following the outcry that has trailed the advocacy for the sale of the country’s national assets as a quick measure to fund the 2016 budget and boost the country’s foreign exchange reserves, the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has dismissed insinuations that his advocacy for the sale of the assets was self-serving, saying he was not interested in any of the assets.
Dangote, who spoke in an interview, stressed that if the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company or any other national asset was offered to him, even on credit, he would not be interested in acquiring them.
Dangote, who is Africa’s richest man, said his advocacy for the government to sell some of its interest in some of the national assets was to help boost the economy as well as to stabilise the naira exchange rate, which has been under attack in the past few days.
According to him, he offered his proposal as a way out of Nigeria’s present economic recession because he is “a true Nigerian who really wants the issues about the economy to be sorted out”.
He added: “You know the issue, once your reserves are low, the banks, entrepreneurs, including external forces, would definitely attack your currency. They would speculate on your currency.