Keep To BOFI Act, CBN Advised

A former Institute of Chartered Accountants of  Nigeria (ICAN) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to douse the controversy surrounding the so called Islamic banking by restricting itself to the tenets and spirit of the Banking and other Financial Institution Act.

Mr Abayomi Ogunjimi, former chairman of ICAN, Amuwo district, told newsmen on Tuesday that the appeal had become imperative because the issue had polarised the nation.

Ogunjimi said that the wrong interpretation of the Act was the reason behind the uproar which had greeted the initiative floated by the CBN.

“CBN needs to de-emphasise the religious connotation in Islamic banking and maintain the non-interest banking system” contained in the Act.

Ogunjimi said that Nigeria needed the benefits of non-interest banking to cushion the effects of high interest rate on businesses.

“As a business man, an interest free facility would be considered as a means of

funding,” he said, and  called for a shift in the scheduled date of implementation to enable the CBN mobilise and sensitise Nigerians to the idea