MMM Member Cries Foul, Blasts CBN and House of Reps (Watch Video)

Ibraheem Musa Usman who is a member of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox in Kano has vented his anger on the House of Representatives for directing the EFCC to arrest promoters of the investment scheme.

Ibraheem Musa Usman

 

Following the decision of the House of Representatives to direct and issue warning to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to immediately arrest promoters of Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox, otherwise known as ‘MMM’ in Nigeria, a member of the group has come out to defend it. 

 

Ibraheem Musa Usman from Kano made a video to defend the investment scheme and blasted the House of Representatives for trying to tarnish the image of the promoters and the business scheme. He urged the House of Representatives to set their priorities straight instead of poke-nosing into affairs that doesn't concern them. 

 

It has been argued that the scheme is something encouraging as it delivers for most Nigerians who have been bashed by the harsh economic recession. Many people have called for a more friendly negotiation between the promoters and the CBN whereby the scheme can be registered and an office created for any avoidance of doubt. 

 

Usman called on CBN and the House of Representatives to desist from tarnishing the image of the scheme as many Nigerians have now been made to believe that the business scheme is scam.

 

It would be recalled that the House of Representatives on Wednesday, ordered the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to immediately go after the promoters.

 

It specifically asked the EFCC to arrest MMM promoters and prosecute them. Most of the lawmakers who added to the discussion opposed the investment scheme and labeled it scam.

 

MMM gained popularity recently in Nigeria following the current economic recession in the country. MMM Global has swept across Africa, with branches promising returns on investment of 30 per cent a month in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Nigeria and some east African states.

 

It is masterminded by the former Russian politician Sergey Mavrodi, who went on the run when the original MMM – standing for Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox – collapsed in the late 1990s, losing investors an estimated $100m.

 

The lawmakers warned Nigerians to be careful as this is yet another trick investment fraudsters use to attract people before vanishing with their money. The House directed the EFCC, security agencies and the CBN to take urgent steps to halt the scheme before many Nigerians would become victims of the scam.

 

Watch video below:

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CBN is Killing Us, We Will Sack 1,500 Staff and Leave Nigeria - Manufacturing Firm Drops Bombshell

As the economic recession bites harder at Nigerians, a manufacturing firm has joined in crying out over the hard times being suffered.

 

Eric Umeofia, the Chief Executive Officer of Erisco Foods, has decried the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s foreign exchange policies, saying they were stifling local manufacturers’ operations and growth.

 

Mr. Umeofia said this on Tuesday in Lagos at a news conference.

 

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Erisco Foods is an indigenous tomato paste manufacturing company that employs thousands of Nigerians.

 

“Our reason for investing in the country is not only for money but also to help our people and our country to achieve her vision in line with government’s agenda to diversify the economy.

“In our effort to support the government, we developed a technology that enabled us to produce tomato paste with fresh and dry tomatoes.

“We have spent over N4 billion to buy dry tomatoes and fresh tomatoes that ought to have wasted as usual from our local farmers, but it is just lying in our warehouses for lack of Forex approval.

“The Forex is to get enough machines sufficient for our capacity to convert them into quality raw materials for the production of tomato paste and to meet up with our packaging lines, to reduce our production cost.

“In view of the above, we will start to lay off about 1,500 of our staff in batches and start moving our machines and equipment out of the country,” the manufacturer said.

 

He said the planned downsizing and plant relocation should be completed in six months to nine months.

 

Mr. Umeofia said that the relocation of production plant to China would increase unemployment, tomato waste and the food import bill of the country, adding that government’s diversification agenda would be enhanced through effective processing of agricultural produce.

 

According to him, the country should move beyond producing primary agricultural products and into processing and manufacturing to enable farmers to reap from their cultivation.

 

“The bumper harvest we are experiencing now is as a result of the people’s determination to go back to farm in line with the campaign for more people to embrace Agriculture.

“If we are serious about diversifying the economy, we must go beyond producing primary agricultural products and go into processing, preserving and manufacturing.

“That is how to encourage farmers to work harder,” Umeofia said.

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CBN Issues Stern Warning to Nigerians on MMM...See Details

Nigerians have been given serious warning by the Central Bank of Nigeria over the controversial MMM scheme.

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria has warned Nigerians not to patronize the so-called ‘wonder banks’, as their activities were not regulated by it. The warning was issued on Monday by the Head, Consumer Protection Department, CBN, Hajiya Kadija Kassim.

 

Kassim stated this during a mentoring programme for students of the Government Secondary School, Suleja, Niger State. The programme held simultaneously in over 200 schools as part of activities to mark the World Savings Day.

 

‘MMM Federal Republic of Nigeria (nigeria.mmm.net)’ also called “mutual aid financial network,” is said to come with a monthly investment return of 30 per cent. But, the CBN said anything could happen to people who invested in the scheme as it is not regulated by the apex bank. 

 

Kassim, while responding to a question asked by one of the students, described the scheme as fraudulent since it was not supported by any business model. 

 

She said, “We have heard about the activities of MMM, but I want to warn you against it because they are wonder banks that are not regulated.

“Desist from their activities because they are fraudulent.”

 

She said the theme of this year’s World Savings Day, ‘Don’t save what is left after spending, but spend what is left after saving’, would assist in creating the needed awareness on the need to save.

 

She added, “The World Savings Day is a tradition created with the objective of stressing the importance of savings for modern economies and individuals alike.

“The primary objective is to increase awareness on financial literacy among various segments of the general public to sensitise them to the importance of saving, earning a livelihood, inculcating a savings habit, and generating employment and entrepreneurship for personal and national development.”

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CBN Warns Nigerians Against 'MMM' Wonder Bank...See Shocking Revelations

The apex bank in Nigeria has warned Nigerians against the trending Ponzi scheme giving participants 30% interest on their saved funds.

Godwin Emefiele

 

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has warned Nigerians to be careful of any deposit money institution that is not insured by the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) especially the trending MMM Nigeria community.

The bank through its the acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, made this known yesterday against the proliferation of wonder banks in the country in recent times, ThisDay reports.

Okoroafor said such deposit money institutions were dubious present Ponzi schemes.

“At times like this when the economy has suffered some decline, Nigerians should be very careful with those they deal with. Any institution that is not licensed by the CBN to accept deposits should not be given money to keep under any guise,” he advised.

He warned Nigerians to beware of the so-called wonder banks, explaining that they were makeshift institutions to dupe people.

“We can vouch for the banking system. The deposit money banks are the only licensed institutions to take deposits. If you need to deposit money in any form, go to any of the deposit money banks and put your money, you can buy fixed income instruments or invest in stocks,” he said.

Okoroafor said the CBN could not guarantee the unregistered institutions, insisting that when depositors lose money to them, the bank would not be able to help them.

“These people always come with very interesting propositions. These are fraudsters who are just out there to collect people’s money and run away as soon as they hit their target. There is no insurance because the NDIC does not even protect them against such risks when they occur,” the CBN said.

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CBN To Extend BVN Registration To Microfinance Banks, Others

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) plans to extend the Bank Verification Number (BVN) registration project to customers of other Financial Institutions (OFIs), its Director, Banking and Payment Systems Department, Dipo Fatokun, has said.

The OFIs are Microfinance Banks, Primary Mortgage Institutions and others.
Mr. Fatokun made the disclosure at a bi-monthly forum organised by Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) in Lagos on Sunday.

The forum had its theme as “Recent Developments in the Electronic Payments System and Implications for Consumers of Electronic Payment Services”.
Mr. Fatokun said the operators of the institutions were already working toward having their customers included in the BVN project. He said the CBN would have OFIs customers enroll through deposit money banks because of the high cost of procuring the machines.

“We are considering using commercial banks as registration points for the OFIs customers.
“We also expect that many of the OFIs customers, who already have their BVNs, will supply the data to their banks, while those without BVN will register afresh,” he said.

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