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Foreign Exchange Affected By Illicit Financial Inflows – IoDCCG Chairman

Foreign Exchange Affected By Illicit Financial Inflows – IoDCCG Chairman

The continuous setback to African and Nigerian economic growth, trade opportunities, and social development has been linked to illicit financial inflows.

The Chairman, IoD Centre For Corporate Governance, Alhaji Shuaibu Idris, observed a stakeholders meeting attended by financial experts, Naija News understands.

While reiterating the need for all stakeholders to play positive roles in strengthening the continent’s financial growth, Idris observed that illicit financial flows contribute to terrorist activities and insecurity from the Lake Chad region, spanning through Nigeria.

Idris stressed that it was important for all stakeholders to jointly address the issue affecting Africa to reduce the impact of the inflows on the economy.

He said this at the IoDCCG stakeholder roundtable on ‘A public/private sector dialogue on strengthening anti-money laundering/countering terrorist financing and curbing illicit financial flows in Nigeria and West Africa’, an initiative of the Center for International Private Enterprise, CIPE, USA and IoD Centre for Corporate Governance in Lagos, Naija News understands.

The event was physically and virtually, attended by different stakeholders who brainstormed on the subject matter.

He said, “Tackling illicit financial flows is a matter of survival for Africa’s development. Africa not only loses about five per cent of continental Gross Domestic Product annually to illicit capital flights but the proliferation of illicit financial flows enables terrorist activity and insecurity from the Lake Chad region, which includes Nigeria spanning the Sahel region.”

“The losses to economic growth, trade opportunities, and social development are therefore unquantifiable. This constitutes a drain on Africa’s foreign exchange reserves, reduces efforts to enhance domestic resource mobilisation, contract investment inflows and contributes to low social development indicators, including poverty and inequality.”

He said the IoDCCG was a collaborative project of the Institute of Directors Nigeria, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Corporate Affairs Commission.

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