Moghalu advises Buhari govt against cryptocurrency ban

A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr. Kingsley Moghalu, has criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s government over the cryptocurrency ban by the apex bank.

It would be recalled that CBN ordered banks and financial institution in Nigeria to close the accounts of cryptocurrency traders.

CBN in its circular signed by Director of Banking Supervision, Bello Hassan, directed financial institutions to halt any transactions in crypto or to facilitate payments for crypto exchanges.

Reacting to the development, which Nigerians have greatly criticised, Moghalu in an interview on Channels Tv Sunday Politics, said the move was as though the Buhari-led administration is always making decisions to take away opportunities from Nigerians, especially in a depressed economy.

The former presidential candidate stated that despite the risks involved in trading in cryptocurrencies, he would not recommend that crypto be banned outrightly because it is fast becoming a real factor in the Nigeria’s investment ecosystem and livelihood of many Nigerians.

He said if he were in a government position to make a decision, it would be to balance the risks against the country’s current realities.

He said: “A lot of the activities across the world are going digital, and I would not recommend banning it (cryptocurrencies) outright.

“$500 million worth of Bitcoin has been traded in Nigeria within the last five years, and Nigeria is one of the top 10 countries in the use of cryptocurrencies in the world today.”

Moghalu advised the government to make the investment climate more favourable and friendly to enable foreign investment.

“Regular currencies depreciate against cryptocurrencies such as the BTC but many policies from the bank in the past few years have not been favourable.

“The Nigerian Government should try to make the investment climate far more friendly and efficient than it is now. Any investment has risks.

“It is unfriendly, that’s why the foreign investment is declining,” he added.