Wale Edun, minister of finance and coordinating minister of the economy, says that Nigerians’ rights to own assets, whether in naira or in any other currency, are protected under the law.
Edun, who disclosed this at the National Economic Dialogue organised by the Nigerian Economic Summit Group in Abuja on Wednesday, said that the target of the first dollar domestic bond being issued in Nigeria is to attract Nigerian savings abroad.
He said that President Bola Tinubu-led administration is firm on improving Nigeria’s economic environment, making it a place for citizens to safely, securely, and profitably keep their savings, rather than using their savings to fertilise other economies.
“The rights of Nigerians to their assets will be fully protected under the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. We launched the first U.S. dollar domestic bond financing and let me say right away, the rights of Nigerians to the funds that they have in Nigeria, whether it is naira, whether it is dollars, whether it is yen, under the law, are protected.
“There are Nigerians who legally live, work in Nigeria, and keep their savings abroad, and we are now giving them an avenue to support and to back their own country, their own government, their children, by bringing some of those savings and putting them into a safe, secure, and profitable investment.”
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He noted that the macroeconomic reforms so far introduced are necessary and have a cost side, particularly in terms of inflation.
This cost, according to him, is to be borne by the strongest and richest in society.
“And I would say this, 25 years of democracy, we are still trying and we must continue to try. Democracy may not be the only form in which to organise a society, but I think all of us agree that it is the best. And it’s always a work in progress trying to improve our democracy.
“As you say, there are those that are thriving, but I agree with you that the opportunity that must be given to young people is still something that we are striving to achieve. And I will put it this way, what you want is a level playing field, access to opportunity, access to capital, access to resources, and that you have every right to aspire to,” Edun said.
Abubakar Suleiman, chief executive officer of Sterling Bank, who spoke during a panel session, said that there is a need to address value erosion to build customer confidence in Nigeria’s banking sector.
Citing instances where people have alleged that the government is going to take part of citizens’ money, Suleiman said that in such occasions customers move their monies out of the banking system.
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“You see Nigerians taking their money and buying real estate, exiting the banking sector. We need to reassure Nigerians often and daily that their assets, the right to their assets will be protected. We now need to work collectively to ensure that the value of their financial assets will also be sustained.
“You wouldn’t buy a four-bedroom house if you think that you’d come back in 10 years and there would be only one bedroom left. If you buy a four-bedroom house, you expect to see four bedrooms in 10 years. Asset value erosion means that, when I put my money in the banking system, I have to feel confident that the value will be comparable to what it was when I put it there.
“Otherwise, what tends to happen is the capital from the country can get escorted to places where they can be assured of asset protection. And the Nigerian domestic saver is increasingly becoming international. There are platforms available for a domestic saver to participate in the international market.”
He stressed the need to protect the value of the currency, urging the country to worry about the emerging risk and ‘technology slavery.’
He stressed that as the banking sector becomes increasingly technology-led, there is a need for Nigeria to start building its own technology to avoid externalisation of the entire value created in the sector.
“We need to own technologies Unfortunately for us, we are coming up at a time when we have become so civilised and therefore we are operating under very tight regulations. I think we must first create before we regulate. We must think about ways to empower the financial system. If we want the next 25 years to matter, we must go beyond just regulating; we must innovate.’”
