Senate urges CBN, NDIC to educate Nigerians on Bit-coin danger

The Senate on Tuesday, urged Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and other stakeholders to make a deliberate effort to educate the public on the dangers of Bitcoin as a store of value in Nigeria.

It said that all news platforms and in various languages should be deployed in the dissemination.

The upper chamber also called on National Orientation Agency (NOA) to spread the news against all forms of wonder banks and Ponzi schemes operating in Nigeria.

It also asked members of its Committee on Banking and other Financial Institutions to investigate the viability of Bitcoin as a form of investment and report to back within two weeks.

These followed the adoption of a motion sponsored by Sen. Benjamin Uwajumogu (APC-IMO).

Leading debate on the motion, Uwajumogu noted the alarming rate at which Bitcoin, a form of digital currency, was being proliferated in Nigeria as one of the best forms of investment.

“This crypto-currency is openly marketed across the country on the local television and radio stations, mostly to Nigerians not aware of the consequences.

“Nigerians are freely advised, and even persuaded to invest in this crypto-currency, as it promises quick returns, in certain instances, a triple or quadruple of the invested sum as profit within days.

“Google, quoted one Bit-coin to be equivalent to N5, 706, 713.20,” he said.

Uwajumogu added that JP Morgan, a world-renowned investment bank, in a conference in New York, reportedly noted that the digital currency (bit-coin) was “only fit for drug dealers and would eventually blow up’’.

He recalled that the MMM bubble of 2016 left millions of Nigerian families broken, devastated while many businessmen lost all their capital in the phoney scheme.

In his contribution, Sen. Dino Melaye said it was the responsibility of government to protect its citizens from being defrauded by the scheme.

He urged NOA to enlighten Nigerians on the need to be careful and not to rush into such scams.

In his remarks, Deputy President of the Senate, Mr Ike Ekweremadu, who presided at the plenary, also underscored the importance of NAO in enlightening citizens.