Reps Inaugurate Committee To Review Cryptocurrency, PoS Operations In Nigeria

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Abbas Tajudeen, has inaugurated an ad-hoc committee to reappraisal the economic, regulatory, and information implications of cryptocurrency adoption and Point-of-Sale (PoS) operations successful Nigeria.

Speaking astatine the inauguration ceremonial connected Monday successful Abuja, Speaker Abbas said the enactment of the committee became indispensable owed to increasing concerns implicit fraud, cybercrime, and user exploitation successful the integer concern space.

According to him, the Nigerian system has demonstrated resilience implicit the years, often bouncing backmost from recessions and signaling awesome maturation successful non-oil sectors.

“It is, therefore, harmless to reason that the cryptocurrency commercialized volition thrive successful specified a robust economical environment,” Abbas said.

However, helium cautioned that the vulnerabilities inherent successful cryptocurrency operations cannot beryllium ignored. He expressed concerns astir the imaginable misuse of integer assets for coercion financing and wealth laundering, citing the opaque quality of cryptocurrency, its anemic regulatory frameworks, and deficiency of accountability.

“It is due to the fact that of this lack of wide rules—coupled with the volatility and complexity of the technology—that the House of Representatives recovered it imperative to found regulations and user extortion measures that volition govern the activities of Virtual Assets Service Providers, including cryptocurrencies and crypto assets,” helium said.

He emphasised that the ad-hoc committee was indispensable to the House’s oversight functions and would play a cardinal relation successful shaping authorities for a broad regulatory model to negociate the adoption of integer currencies successful Nigeria.

“This Ad-Hoc Committee is, therefore, perfectly necessary. Its main occupation is to undertake nationalist hearings to collate applicable accusation from stakeholders that volition usher the House successful processing authorities for a regulatory model for the adoption of the currency successful our economy,” helium added.

Abbas reaffirmed the committedness of the 10th House of Representatives to safeguarding Nigeria and its citizens from antagonistic developments that could derail the economical reforms being implemented by the medication of President Bola Tinubu.

He urged members of the committee to beryllium patriotic successful the discharge of their duties and let nationalist involvement to usher their work.

In his remarks, president of the committee, Rep. Olufemi Bamisile (APC-Ekiti), described the duty arsenic 1 of nationalist value aimed astatine striking a equilibrium betwixt fiscal innovation and nationalist security.

“We person been entrusted with a task of nationalist significance: to reappraisal the economic, regulatory, and information implications of cryptocurrency adoption and Point-of-Sale operations successful Nigeria,” Bamisile said.

He noted that portion integer concern is reshaping planetary fiscal systems, Nigeria has seen accelerated maturation successful cryptocurrency and POS operations—offering opportunities for fiscal inclusion and innovation, but besides presenting superior risks.

“These see cybercrime, fraud, wealth laundering, coercion financing, and regulatory uncertainty,” helium warned.

Bamisile said the committee would absorption connected processing a legislative and regulatory model that encourages innovation portion protecting citizens and maintaining the integrity of the fiscal system.

He added that the committee would enactment intimately with cardinal regulatory and information agencies, including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC), the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Nigeria Police Force.

The president assured that the committee would follow a consultative and evidence-based approach, engaging a wide scope of stakeholders—including regulators, banks, fintech operators, civilian nine groups, and the information community—through nationalist hearings to stitchery divers perspectives.