The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer ofthe Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC)Umaru Ibrahim has advised Nigerians to exercisemaximum caution in the adoption of crypto-currenciesas their preferred mode of financial transactions. Hewarned that while various forms of digital currenciescurrently in operation have their positive and negativeattributes, those who patronize them risk losing theirsavings because the medium is largely unregulated andwithout the backing or support from the traditionalCentral Banks in almost all financial jurisdictions.The NDIC Boss made the remarks during the courtesycall by the Board and Management of the Corporationon the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila in hisofficer at the National Assembly Complex, in Abuja.Earlier, in her opening remarks, the Chairman of theBoard of the Corporation, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun, informedthe Speaker that the NDIC remained a critical player inthe Nigerian financial safety net that had contributedimmensely to the growth and stability of the nation’sfinancial stability in the 30 years of its operations usingbest practices. She added that recently the NDICbecame the worst public sector institution in Nigeria tobe awarded three International Standard Organization(ISO) certifcations simultaneously by the BritishStandards Institute (BSI) in view of its result orientedsystem, processes and procedures.
The Board Chairman solicited the assistance of theHouse in the passage of the NDIC Act Amendment Billcurrently before the National Assembly. In his response,the Speaker commended NDIC on the visit, describing itas a right step towards fostering harmonious workingrelationship with agencies in the executive arm ofgovernment.On the issue of Crypto currency, he noted that as theentire world currently exploited ways of mainstreamingits use into the global #nancial landscape, NDIC andother safety-net participants in the country must not beleft behind in the adoption of appropriate regulatoryframework to deal with the prevalence of cryptocurrencies in the global financial space.The Hon. Speaker said added that only recently, therewas a meeting of world leaders in Osaka, Japan todeliberate on the subject. Responding to a specific request from the Board and Management of theCorporation, he assured that the House, under hisleadership will ensure that the most appropriateCommittee is assigned to handle the oversightfunctions of the Corporation.SUNDAY A. OLUYEMIDIRECTOR, COMMUNICATION & PUBLIC AFFAIRS
