'Why Nigeria Needs to Clamp Down on Binance', Presidency Speaks Out
- Two senior executives of Binance have been detained in Nigeria as the Bola Tinubu administration tries to fix the nation's economy
- Legit.ng reports that following the detention of the executives, Binance halted trading of the Naira against bitcoin digital coin on its exchange
- Reacting to the crackdown, a presidential aide, Bayo Onanuga, warned that Binance will destroy the Nigerian economy
Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over 9 years of experience covering public journalism, technology and economy.
FCT, Abuja - Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, has said if Nigeria fails to clamp down on Binance, the world's leading blockchain ecosystem will destroy the economy of the country.
Onanuga said this in an interview on Channels Television’s 'Politics Today' on Wednesday night, February 28.
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The presidential aide accused Binance of ‘just fixing the rate’ and contributing to the current unpalatable economic situation in Nigeria.
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He said:
“All this while, the government moved against Binance. Some people sit down, operate in the cyberspace, and dictate even our exchange rate, hijacking the role of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
“They just sit down and fix anything they like.
“We were told that if we don’t clamp down on Binance, Binance will destroy the economy of this country. They just fix rates. That is sabotage.”
Tinubu’s govt detains Binance executives
Meanwhile, two senior executives at Binance (both foreigners) have been detained in Nigeria as Africa’s most populous country tries to rein in speculation on the naira by cracking down on cryptocurrency exchanges.
According to Financial Times in a report on Wednesday, February 28, the executives flew to Nigeria following the country’s recent decision to ban several cryptocurrency trading websites. However, they were detained by the office of Nigeria’s national security adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu, and their passports were seized.
Read more about Binance Nigeria:
- Dollar crashes against Naira on Binance as CBN orders BDCs to sell USD to Nigerians at cheap rate
- Nigerian crypto traders rush to Binance, trade N1.9bn in 24 hours as FG blocks platforms
- Binance issues warning to Nigerian users after FG threatened to block platform over FX manipulations
NCC orders MTN, Glo, to block Binance
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) ordered telecom companies to restrict access to Binance and other cryptocurrency companies' websites.
The telcos received a directive from the commission on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.
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Source: Legit.ng
