Nigerian lawmaker proposes closure of all domiciliary accounts to save endangered naira

Nigerian lawmaker Ibrahim Obanikoro has called on Nigerian authorities to “close all domiciliary accounts for the next 12 months.” Such a move, he argues, will help ease pressure on the naira, which has depreciated by more than 10% in the last two months.

The continued depreciation of the Naira

Obanikoro’s call comes almost two weeks after threats from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor. forced Abokifx will stop publishing black market Naira exchange rates. But even after the service is discontinued, the naira continues to lose value.

This ongoing devaluation, in turn, is forcing panicked stakeholders like Obanikoro to propose even more unconventional and controversial solutions.

However, in his September 28th tweet, Obanikoro also justified his call by saying that other countries would never allow Nigerians to open a Naira account. The legislator stated:

I am not the Central Bank of Nigeria [CBN] Governor, but at the moment I am of the opinion that CBN should order all dormitory accounts to be closed for the next 12 months. Let’s look at the effect on the Naira. After all, you can’t go to any Western world and open a foreign currency account. Your opinion.

Legislator's proposal questioned

As expected, Obanikoro's controversial call sparked an immediate reaction from some Twitter users. For example in his Answer At the suggestion of the legislator, an account called “Crypto Thought Leader” brings Bitcoin into the discussion, saying: “Satoshi looked through history and decided to create this alternative for us.” The user ends his answer by predicting that the naira's drop to $1 for every 1000 NGN will "happen faster than I predicted."

Another user, Orisha, welcomes the willingness of lawmakers to resolve the ongoing devaluation of the local currency, but warns against closing domiciliary accounts. The user called:

"This idea can work, but you can't just close people's Dom account, only instruct them to withdraw all their dollars from the account within, say, 4 months maximum. Will the Northern and Naija elites allow you to destroy banks and exchange houses [BDC]?"

However, other users have asked Obanikoro to focus his attention on factors that caused the naira to lose value and not on the accounts.

Do you agree with the Nigerian legislature’s proposal? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

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