Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has reacted to the recent Ban on cryptocurrency purchase and trading by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN which placed restrictions on chryptocurrency transactions in the country. Since the emergence of the CBN decision, which entails that any person or entity who is receiving cryptocurrency as payment in his bank account and withdraws it as cash cannot do that again, a lot of Nigerians have reacted to it on several social media platforms. Atiku while reacting to the development on his Twitter page on February 6, said “We Need To Open Up Our Economy, Not Close It.” “The number one challenge facing Nigeria is youth unemployment. In fact, it is not a challenge, it is an emergency. It affects our economy and is exacerbating insecurity in the nation.
“What Nigeria needs now, perhaps more than ever, are jobs and an opening up of our economy, especially after yesterday’s report by the National Bureau of Statistics indicated that foreign capital inflow into Nigeria is at a four year low,
“Having plummeted from $23.9 billion in 2019 to just $9.68 billion in 2020.
“Already, the nation suffered severe economic losses from the border closure and the effects of the #COVID19 pandemic.
“This is definitely the wrong time to introduce policies that will restrict the inflow of capital into Nigeria, and I urge that the policy to prohibit the dealing and transaction of cryptocurrencies be revisited.
“It is possible to regulate the sub-sector and prevent any abuse that may be damaging to national security. That may be a better option, than an outright shutdown.
“There is already immense economic pressure on our youths. It must be the job of the government, therefore, to reduce that pressure, rather than adding to it.
“We must create jobs in Nigeria. We must expand the economy. We must remove every impediment towards investments. We owe the Nigerian people that much.
