From Okey Sampson, Umuahia
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned the public against dealing with fraudsters, particularly those engaged in Ponzi schemes.
CBN Director of Corporate Communications Osita Nwanisiobi gave the warning during a two-day CBN FAIR (sensitisation) programme in Umuahia, Abia State.
Speaking on the recently launched eNaira by President Muhammadu Buhari, Nwanisiobi described it as the digital equivalent of the physical currency.
‘It is not Crypto Currency, all we are trying to do is to cross Nigeria from local to the digital economy,’ he said.
Nwanisiobi disclosed that Nigeria was the first country in Africa and the 6th in the world to launch the digital currency, symbolised by eNaira.
He warned the public against patronising those who would ask them to deposit a certain amount of money and get a huge percentage of interest in return after just a few days of the transaction.
‘The public should be careful in dealing with the Ponzi scheme, many people have been duped who patronised the scheme,’ Nwanisiobi warned.
‘People should equally not deal with those who ask them to deposit a certain amount of money with a promise to give them double what they deposited, within a few days.’
The CBN Director of Corporate Communications cautioned that any financial institution not licensed by the CBN was operating illegally and prone to duping the public.
CBN Branch Controller Umuahia Onyeka Ogbu said the CBN has since its inception introduced interventions aimed at transforming the lives of Nigerians.
Ogbu noted that the CBN would continue to be involved in policies that would grow the economy and promote economic stability.
Cletus Agla, who spoke on the CBN’s Development Finance Initiatives, said that the Bank has since 1977 been engaged in offering loans to farmers to enhance their productivity.
Agla disclosed that currently the CBN is involved in another interventionist programme meant for university graduates. He made it clear that the loan was for unemployed graduates who nevertheless possess entrepreneurial skills.
The loan, he said, ranges from N5 million for single applicants, to N25 million for those willing to go into partnerships.
Speaking on Currency and Clean Note policy, Rayyan Umar said the eNaira was introduced not only to preserve the Nigerian currency but also to make business transactions less cumbersome.