Nigerians in the Diaspora are to obtain Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), before the end of the year.
By Emma Ogbuehi
In a bid to boost remittances and encourage compatriots abroad to participate more actively in the country’s economy, Nigerians in the Diaspora are to obtain Bank Verification Numbers (BVN), before the end of the year.
The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, made the disclosure at a meeting with the Nigerian community in Washington DC on Wednesday.
He said that the initiative, to be driven by the Nigerian Inter-Bamk Settlement System, NIBBS, would boost Diaspora remittances as well as assist Nigerians abroad to participate more actively in the Nigeria’s economy.
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Cardoso said: “As far as we are concerned, it is totally unacceptable that you should be out here and be having hassles in operating your accounts or doing business in your original country.”
The CBN Governor also met with international investors, where he explained the current monetary policy reforms.
Also, he urged them to take advantage of the attractive economic environment to invest in Nigeria.
The pledge by the CBN Governor comes on the heels of recent assurance by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tajudeen Abbass on efforts by the 10th National Assembly to ensure that Nigerians in diaspora participate in the voting processes in the country.
Abbass made the pledge in ceremony by the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) in Abuja. Represented by his Deputy, Benjamin Kalu, the Speaker added that a bill on Diaspora Voting had passed through the first reading in the House as indication of how the seriousness of the legislators on the matter. He stressed the importance of the diaspora in Nigeria’s development, going by huge financial remittances back home and their expertise in national development.
The Speaker’s comment aligned with the plea by Chairman/CEO, NIDCOM Abike Dabiri-Erewa, on the National Assembly to pass the diaspora voting bill as a way of encouraging Nigerians living abroad to have a say in the political activities in the country. She said the much-expected diaspora voting bill aims to grant Nigerians living overseas the right to vote, recognising their substantial impact on the economy and investments back in Nigeria.