Reduce dollarisation of economic activities to save poor Nigerians, Ozigi tells FG

The chairman of Kabimya Financial Company Limited (KFCL), Dr. Emmanuel Ozigi, has warned that the continued dollarisation of economic activities in Nigeria and the recent free market policy of the Federal government, will seriously impede economic growth and breed more poverty among the ordinary Nigerians.

The KFCL boss further said that no economy thrives in a free for all market. He then stressed in the need for the Federal government to regulate especially Nigeria’s forex market.

“You cannot have a free for all policy where there are no regulations. Because there is no economy that thrives on a free market policy where everybody determines, or the forces of the market determine. Some of the policies as in the case of Nigeria are not realistic. The effect will be heavy on the common man. That is why the implications of the free for all policy we have now are more on the common people who do not have access.

“That is why we are saying it should be regulated. At the same time, government should be looking at how to reduce the dollarization of our economy. Because we cannot continue to dollarise every one of our activities. When you dollarize everything, it makes it difficult for you to improve your economy locally. And that is why we cannot compete Internationally. So as much as possible, we should reduce dollarization of our commodities, activities and services,” he said.

Ozigi, who said this at the official launching of Kabimya Financial Company Limited in Abuja on Tuesday, went on to say; “When you have an economy that is regulated, it means that there is no control. You can see the macro-economic effect happening in Nigeria in less than the last 60 days in terms of inflation, standard of living and livelihood. You can see the implications, and this is a result of when you have a policy that did not actually give a direction on how an economy should go.

“An economy should be driven. And should have drivers of the economy who will point the direction of how it should go. Now that it is the force of demand and supply that determines the exchange rate. I can decide to hoard and release when I know there is heavy demand. These are the implications of not having a regulated economy.”

Speaking on the readiness of KFCL to impact Nigeria’s business community, he said the services his financial firm will go all the way to even make job opportunities more available. He noted that his firm will not just deal with fund provision for clients but also give risk management advice that will help businesses of their customers grow and profit efficiently to create job opportunities.

“Lack of access to finance is the key thing that affects business growth. So we are available to provide funds to people that want to expand their businesses. So we will do a risk analysis for our customers and advice them on the risks they are likely to face. We are not too stringent in terms of collateral but we have to secure our funds too. So our benchmark is a minimum of 4%.

“As a finance company, the only thing we are not eligible to do is to obtain deposits as the banks do. Every other activity we can.

“We will protect our customers’ interest which is key and paramount. That is why our service and activities are customer-centric. Our customers’ satisfaction is key to our activities and business. Without them, we will not be able to operate optimally.

“We are looking at the impact of financial institutions on the developing an economy. That is why we are looking at SMEs. SMEs are very critical in economic development, as they contribute to employment and the reduction of poverty in an economy. So we are looking at how SMEs will have access. We will partner with existing financial institutions to see how SMEs will be able to access soft loans. The loans will not be a long term that would affect their profit margin. But that will help them to support their businesses will crystallise into profit making.

“We will expand our technology to enable customers to access our products and see cues wherever may be,” he emphasised.

READ ALSO FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE 

• We borrow guns for operation from woman selling paraga —Highway robbery suspects

• Experts warn petrol price could hit N1000 per litre

• #BBNaijaAllStars: Mercy Eke wins immunity as Adekunle emerges first HOH

• Gory details of Ore petrol tanker explosion: How pregnant woman, three children were caught in inferno

• FLATOUT: Mass burial and the king who wants to live forever

• EDITORIAL: The debt servicing conundrum