BusinessDay 08 Nov 2017

Wednesday 08 November 2017
12 BUSINESS DAY
C002D5556
EDITORIAL
PUBLISHER/CEO
Frank Aigbogun
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
Prof. Onwuchekwa Jemie
EDITOR
Anthony Osae-Brown
DEPUTY EDITOR
John Osadolor, Abuja
NEWS EDITOR
Patrick Atuanya
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR,
SALES AND MARKETING
Kola Garuba
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OPERATIONS
Fabian Akagha
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, DIGITAL SERVICES
Oghenevwoke Ighure
ADVERT MANAGER
Adeola Ajewole
MANAGER, SYSTEMS & CONTROL
Emeka Ifeanyi
HEAD OF SALES, CONFERENCES
Rerhe Idonije
SUBSCRIPTIONS MANAGER
Patrick Ijegbai
CIRCULATION MANAGER
John Okpaire
GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (North)
Bashir Ibrahim Hassan
GM, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT (South)
Ignatius Chukwu
HEAD, HUMAN RESOURCES
Adeola Obisesan
EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD
Dick Kramer - Chairman
Imo Itsueli
Mohammed Hayatudeen
Albert Alos
Funke Osibodu
Afolabi Oladele
Dayo Lawuyi
Vincent Maduka
Wole Obayomi
Maneesh Garg
Keith Richards
Opeyemi Agbaje
Amina Oyagbola
Bolanle Onagoruwa
Fola Laoye
Chuka Mordi
Sim Shagaya
Mezuo Nwuneli
Emeka Emuwa
Charles Anudu
Tunji Adegbesan
Eyo Ekpo
NEWS ROOM
08022238495
08034009034}Lagos
08033160837 Abuja
ADVERTISING
01-2799110
08116759801
08082496194
ENQUIRIES
Federal Government: Get creative and forget about BVN funds
The Federal Government
in its
culture of laziness
as it searches
for easy money
has set its sights on monies
deposited in banks by
individuals and organisations.
This hunt by the FG is
predicated on an estimated
46 million bank accounts
which are not linked to any
Bank Verification Number
(BVN).
This has of course
begged the question; why
is the government always
so desperate for ‘free money’?
When other progressive
nations are thinking
of how to expand economic
activity and invariably,
increase the amount of
money their citizens have
in bank accounts, Nigeria’s
government has for weeks
been scheming to take
money out of corporate
and individual accounts.
We however believe that
the government should
instead be more creative in
its approach to managing
the economy. The economic
diversification chant should
go beyond rhetoric, but given
a strategic, committed,
intelligent push. Different
sectors of the economy from
Agriculture, to Mining, Manufacturing,
Technology and
so many others only need
concerted efforts to start
blossoming.
The present administration
has in the last two years,
favoured issuance of bonds
and all sorts of debt instruments
to stay afloat. If the
government has however
run out of places to get easy
cash, the cash deposited in
banks by Nigerian citizens
and possibly non-citizens
cannot be the way out.
In fact, as noted in some
quarters, such an action
might send a wrong signal
to foreign investors and the
international community.
At a time when the country
seems to have made appreciable
growth in ease of
doing business, it therefore
defies logic that investors
will be expected to troop into
a country where government
can wake up, and clamp
down on any “loose cash”
in sight.
The government’s decision
like virtually every
other endeavour of the present
administration revolves
around anti-corruption.
But the simple logic which
should have perhaps been
allowed to prevail is that;
accounts without BVN remain
barred from transactions
until it is done. Going
beyond this to convert these
monies into government use
is cynical, and a lazy way to
raise funds.
Nigeria’s public debt as
at June stands at N19.6 trillion
(US$64.2 billion), which
is about 16 percent of the
2016 GDP of US$405 billion.
However, confiscating banks
depositors’ funds through
this BVN strategy, is far from
being ingenious as a way of
meeting the government’s
growing financial obligations.
Apart from the existing
debt, there are also plans
for a $5.5 billion eurobond.
Nigerians remember only
too well, the tortuous past
of struggling to pay series of
foreign debts which accumulated
mostly through the military
era. But this administration
has not only favoured
borrowing, but appears to
have run out of potential
foreign creditors, borrowed
excessively from domestic
banks, and now, simply wants
to take by force, what it hasn’t
been smart enough to build
up on its own.
As some reason in line
with the government’s argument;
ill gotten wealth could
account for the chunk of
the accounts without BVN.
However, there are potentially
millions of people in
the diaspora, even in prison,
or incapacitated one way or
the other, and regardless of
their conditions, have the
right to access their funds
whenever they are able to
enrol for BVN. Until this is
done, access to the funds
only needs to be restricted,
not converted to government
use.
SUBSCRIPTIONS
01-2799101
07032496069
07054563299
www.businessdayonline.com
The Brook,
6 Point Road, GRA, Apapa,
Lagos, Nigeria.
01-2799100
LEGAL ADVISERS
The Law Union
MISSION
STATEMENT
To be a diversified
provider of superior
business, financial and
management intelligence
across platforms accessible
to our customers
anywhere in the world.
OUR CORE VALUES
BusinessDay avidly thrives on the mainstay of our core values of being The Fourth Estate, Credible, Independent,
Entrepreneurial and Purpose-Driven.
• The Fourth Estate: We take pride in being guarantors of liberal economic thought
• Credible: We believe in the principle of being objective, fair and fact-based
• Independent: Our quest for liberal economic thought means that we are independent of private and public interests.
• Entrepreneurial: We constantly search for new opportunities, maintaining the highest ethical standards in all we do
• Purpose-Driven: We are committed to assembling a team of highly talented and motivated people that share
our vision, while treating them with respect and fairness.
www.businessdayonline.com