Business
SEC Cautions Nigerians Against Ponzi Schemes
Members of the public have been cautioned against patronizing various ponzi schemes being introduced almost on daily basis in the country.
Making the appeal recently, the Port Harcourt zonal Head of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr Obi Adindu, on a radio news and current affairs programme “matters of the moment”, in Port Harcourt, warned that any investment not anchored on any business structure will only cause unnecessary anxiety to the people.
“Nigerians must partner with us, give us early warning signal about any ponzi scheme that is operating in their area and demanding money, please go and check on the SEC website”, he said.
Another guest on the programme, a public affairs analyst,. Mr Andrew Ajayi, in his contribution lamented that the agents of enlistment, including, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) and the SEC had not done enough to enlighten the public on the schemes, thereby resulting in the loss of money by many Nigerians.
He said that it was the responsibility of the government to ensure that the welfare of its citizens were secure.
“The security and welfare of citizens belong to the government solely, and I think these agencies of government, vis-à-vis enlightening Nigerians and securing them from these fraudsters are coming too late” he said.
He wondered how Nigerians through such schemes have been able to defraud fellow Nigerians up to the tune of N18 billion before action is taken by agencies of government.
It could be recalled that the ponzi scheme has been trending in Nigeria and Nigerians are being defrauded on the various platforms.
Recently, the Internet Association of Nigeria, said it was making moves to stop the fraudulent schemes.
Also, the Federal Government of Nigeria’s owned Internet Registration Association (NIRA), said it has mapped out strategies to deal with issues of internet abuses by various forms of ponzi schemes such as MMM, Twinkers and Ultimate Circles, amongst others.