Caption; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo SAN delivers the keynote address at The 20th Anniversary Africa Regional Webinar of The ICPC. Theme; Combating Corruption and Illicit Financial Flows; New Measures and Strategies Photos; Tolani Alli
HighlightTop StoryTrending Story

FG to CBN, SEC: Regulate Cryptocurrency, don’t prohibit

301

 

“So it should be thoughtful and knowledge-based regulation not prohibition. The point I am making is that some of the exciting developments we see call for prudence and care in adopting them, but we must act with knowledge and not fear’’

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) says in spite of the abuses of Cryptocurrency its operations should be regulated and not prohibited in the country.

“I fully appreciate the strong position of the CBN, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and some of the anti-corruption agencies on the possible abuses of cryptocurrencies and their other well-articulated concerns. But I believe that their position should be the subject of further reflection.

“There is a role for regulation here. And it is in the place of both our monetary authorities and SEC to provide a robust regulatory regime that addresses these serious concerns without killing the goose that might lay the golden eggs.

“So it should be thoughtful and knowledge-based regulation not prohibition. The point I am making is that some of the exciting developments we see call for prudence and care in adopting them, but we must act with knowledge and not fear,’’ Osinbajo said.

He spoke at a one-day virtual economic summit organized by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Banker’s Committee, and the Vanguard Newspapers, with the theme, “Bankers’ Initiative for Economic Growth”.

While urging the monetary authorities to have a rethink on their stand on cryptocurrencies, Osinbajo said: “There is no question that blockchain technology generally and cryptocurrencies, in particular, will in the coming years challenge traditional banking, including reserve (Central) banking, in ways that we cannot yet imagine.

“So, we need to be prepared for that seismic shift. And it may come sooner than later.”

“Already remittance systems are being challenged. Blockchain technology will provide far cheaper options to the kind of fees being paid today for cross-border transfers. I am sure you are all aware of the challenge that the traditional SWIFT system is facing from new systems like Ripple which is based on the blockchain distributed ledger technology with its own crypto tokens.

“There are, of course, a whole range of digital assets spawned daily from block-chain technology. Decentralized finance, using smart contracts to create financial instruments, in place of central financial intermediaries such as banks or brokerages is set to challenge traditional finance.

“The likes of Nexo finance offer instant loans using cryptocurrency as collateral. Some reserve banks are investigating issuing their own digital currencies.”

On national development and the public-private sector interventions, the Vice-President said to engender sustained economic growth, there was need to think in terms of scale.

“I am quite concerned when I hear that national interventions are classified as pilots involving sometimes no more than 1000 people. Given the size of our population, we cannot afford the luxury of pilot projects. We should design our interventions very carefully and then go big.

“It was quite puzzling to me when people said that our plan to build 300,000 houses under the ESP was too ambitious a target. After all, this just amount to 400 houses per local government yet many of our local governments are larger than some African countries who would not consider building 400 houses in one year as too onerous a task.

“The task of national development requires that we fire on all cylinders after all, at one stage, China was building 1.9m housing units per year over a number of years,’’ he stressed in a statement by Mr Laolu Akande, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Office of the Vice-President, a copy of which was emailed to Persecondnews.

Harping on the need to complement the efforts of the Federal Government in bridging the infrastructure gap, Osinbajo said the Buhari administration had a track record of building roads, rail and power projects across the country.

“In spite of this commitment we are still very far away from meeting the full infrastructural needs of the economy.”

The Vice-President called for improved support especially from the private sector in the operationalization of the Infrastructure Company (InfraCo).

“The President has now approved the establishment of InfraCo which will be a public-private partnership chaired by the CBN Governor to overcome our infrastructural deficits.

“I expect that this is a project that will excite the interest of financiers and bankers and I encourage you all to lend support to make it a success,” Osinbajo said.

He urged stakeholders to pay attention to human resource development as they scale up investments in the economy.

On the country’s recovery from its second recession in four years, Osinbajo said policymakers, lawmakers and business leaders have cause to cheer the relatively good performance in the face of the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

He attributed the successes recorded to the early actions of the President by providing an initial stimulus and constituting the Economic Sustainability Committee and the Economic Sustainability Plan.

Participants at the forum included the Lagos Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, representatives of the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the founder of Vanguard Newspapers, and other bank executives.

Leave a comment

Related Articles

NNPC Ltd. Advocates Collaboration, Transparency in Global Energy Decarbonization

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) has called for increased...

VP Shettima Unveils Community-Driven Strategy to Tackle Nigeria’s Nutrition Challenges

Vice President Kashim Shettima has reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to addressing its growing...

Super Falcons to Face France in November Friendly

The Nigerian women’s national team, the Super Falcons, will face France in...

Just in: NAPPS offers released #Endbadgovernance minors scholarships

The National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) has announced its...

Just in: Tinubu Decorates Acting Chief of Army Staff Oluyede as Lieutenant General

President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday decorated the acting Chief of Army Staff,...

Just in: For umpteenth time, national power grid collapses

Nigeria’s national power grid experienced another collapse on Tuesday, losing power generation...

CONUA to FG: Settle out withheld salaries, allowances, third-party deductions

The Congress of University Academics (CONUA) has called on the federal government...

Tinubu’s N200bln intervention fund seeks to eradicate poverty in Nigeria – Gov. Sani

Governor Uba Sani of Kaduna State has said that President Bola Tinubu...

Just in: FG reverses 18-year-old admission benchmark in tertiary institutions

Nigeria’s Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has abolished the 18-year admission...

Guardiola admits Manchester City’s struggle amid injury crisis

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has acknowledged that the club will struggle...

Pres.Tinubu Unveils Ambitious Plan to Revamp Nigeria’s Dilapidated Stadiums

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Shehu Dikko, has outlined...

FG terminates Julius Berger’s N740bln Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano road project

The Federal Ministry of Works has issued a 14-day termination notice to...

Just in: 63-year-old Ekiti Chief Judge, Adeyeye, dies

Justice Oyewole Adeyeye, the Chief Judge of Ekiti State, has passed away....

Equatorial Guinea govt introduces CCTV in offices amid sextape scandal

Following sextape scandals, Equatorial Guinea’s Vice President, Teddy Nguema, has announced plans...

Election Day Showdown: Harris and Trump Hold Duelling Rallies as Polls Reach Dead Heat

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump held rival rallies on Monday, the final...

$26bln African Atlantic Gas Pipeline Project Gains Momentum

The federal government, in collaboration with the Economic Community of West African...

Just in: FG withdraws treason charges against #Endbadgovernance protesters

The Federal High Court in Abuja has terminated the treason charges brought...

N1.3trn fraud: EFCC arrests, grills ex-Delta Gov. Okowa

A former Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, has been apprehended by the...

Breaking: Pres. Tinubu orders release of #EndBadGovernance underage protesters

President Bola Tinubu has ordered the immediate release of all minors arrested...

Equatorial Guinea government official embroiled in sextape scandal

Mr. Baltasar Engonga, Director General of the National Financial Investigation Agency (ANIF)...