By Olusegun Olanrewaju
A New York-based lawyer and chartered accountant, Chief Owolabi Salis, yesterday advised the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to closely monitor the activities of the nation’s banks for economic recovery.
He said this was imperative to actualise the Renewed Hope Agenda of the Tinubu administration.
Salis, in a statement issued from the United States (US) and made available to ThisNigeria, noted that Nigeria was losing billions of dollars due to the unscrupulous activities of banks, especially from remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora.
According to him, this was discouraging many Nigerians abroad from sending their monies to Nigeria, thereby negatively impacting the economy and programmes of the government.
Salis said, “There is no gain in saying that Nigeria has a lot of professionals cutting across diverse fields abroad. Ordinarily, this should be a major advantage for any country, as it is a major avenue to boost the economy.
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“However, from my personal experience and my discussions with many Nigerians abroad, a lot of Nigerians are very reluctant to send money home because of the unscrupulous activities of some banks that impose excessive deductions on such monies.
“I have felt this at a personal level as five percent of a not-for-profit venture sent to a Nigerian bank was deducted. This left me shocked to the marrow as there is nowhere in any part of the civilized world that such is done.
“I am more than sure that I am not alone because so many Nigerians abroad are discouraged by such acts and would rather keep their monies in places they are pleased with. Unfortunately, this impacted negatively on the nation’s economy, denying it several millions of dollars which would have provided more foreign exchange and jobs for millions of people.
Speaking on the operations of anti-graft agencies, Salis said, “I have argued several times since 207 that the anti-graft agencies, EFCC and ICPC should operate at the grassroots of public corruption rather than choosing the proceeds of corruption. Merely chasing the proceeds of corruption is an attack on the economy because corrupt government officials will move the money from the economy.
“Allowing corruption to happen in government and chasing the proceeds of the corruption on its own. Since many government officials have been raided, the public has never been fully informed of what was retrieved from the raids.
“I am pleased to hear from the new EFCC helmsman that government corruption will pursued at the grassroots by setting up kiosks at the transportation level. That will help a lot.
