Aremo Olusegun Osoba, former governor of Ogun State and dependable ally of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has disclosed the advice he gave to the president on how to effectively tackle naira scarcity and solve the issue of humongous money kept outside the banking system.
When he was featured on Arise TV’s “The Morning Show” on Tuesday, the accomplished journalist disclosed that when he met with the president on Christmas Day, he suggested that the Anti-corruption agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crime Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) should allow the banks to accept deposits without investigating sources of the funds.
According to him, it would encourage the huge money being kept outside the banking sector to find its way back to the bank vaults.
Responding to the advice, Osoba said that the President may consider an executive order that would liberalise deposits by Nigerians in the deposit money banks
Osoba said that once the plan is perfected, those who buried money in their homes would be encouraged to exhume it and deposit same in banks.
He decried a situation where Nigerians, presently due to scarcity of naira both within and outside the banking system, have resorted to saving their money in $20, $50 notes instead of in local currency.
He also decried a situation where naira that was said to be scarce always found its way to venues of shindig or parties where hawkers sell the notes for commission to those who indulge in open display of spraying the notes on celebrators.
He said that President Tinubu was very worried about the development and had heeded his advice to act expeditiously to control the liquidity outside the banking system.
