Following the ban placed on cryptocurrency trading by the Central Bank of Nigeria, former education minister Oby Ezekwesili has described the situation as ironic.
She stated that the situation was ironic owing to the fact that a Nigerian – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – was recently installed as the top boss of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
On Friday, the Central Bank of Nigeria released a circular directing all banks in the country to close all accounts of customers trading in cryptocurrencies.
It warned that any financial institution that went against its directive would face sanctions.
In her tweet, Ezekwesili urged the CBN to gather brilliant young Nigerian minds in the fintech space and “listen and learn more”.
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She said, “Frankly, CBN, all you needed to do was map all the legitimate risks associated with #cryptocurrency and gather a subset of the super brilliant Nigerian young minds in #FinTech so you listen and learn more. Learning is the greatest asset of the policy-maker. Never late.
“Our country’s DNA for irony is uncanny. At the same moment, as we celebrate one of our own leading a global trade institution, we have a memo from our Central Bank making country appear unprepared to embrace the future.”
She quipped at the end of the tweet with, “You can’t write this script”.
Effect of the Cryptocurrency Ban
The directive has caused top cryptocurrency companies to suspend naira deposits.
Fintech firms like Luno, Binance, and Bundle said in statements released on Friday.
In a statement, Luno’s management said, “Luno will continue to operate as normal while we seek further clarity from the authorities. Some Naira deposit methods are currently affected, please check the status page for updates. Withdrawals are unaffected and will continue to be processed, but may take longer than usual. All customer funds are completely safe.”
While Binance assured users of the safety of their funds, it added, “From 7 PM (GMT+1) on Feb 5th, 2021, Binance will temporarily suspend NGN deposits through our fiat partner channels. Withdrawal services remain normal and will continue to be processed but might take slightly longer time than usual.”
Bundle, another crypto brand, said, “Due to the notice, our naira payment partners have decided to suspend crypto-related payments, for now, so we have disabled naira deposits until this is resolved. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this may cause you.”
