Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has warned Nigerians against investing their funds in unlicensed fund managers, Ponzi schemes and platforms promising unusually high returns.
The NDIC gave the warning during its Special Day at the 21st Abuja International Trade Fair, organised by the Abuja Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture.
The corporation said members of the public should keep their funds only with financial institutions licensed and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria, where eligible deposits are covered by formal deposit insurance.
The NDIC Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Thompson Oludare Sunday, said protecting personal savings and maintaining confidence in the banking system were essential to achieving the Federal Government’s target of building a $1tn economy by 2030.
The corporation cautioned that unregulated investment platforms and schemes offering extraordinary returns within a short period exposed unsuspecting investors to significant financial losses.
It noted that such schemes could cause severe financial and emotional hardship when they collapsed, urging Nigerians to verify the regulatory status of financial institutions before committing their funds.
Meanwhile, some exhibitors at the 2026 Abuja International Trade Fair have appealed to Nigerians to increase patronage, saying low customer turnout had affected their expected sales.
The vendors made the appeal in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria on Friday at the ongoing fair.
A Ghanaian trader, Florence Kaatachi, said she had experienced low patronage since the commencement of the event.
Kaatachi urged Nigerians to patronise exhibitors, particularly foreign vendors who had brought goods into the country, saying increased purchases would help prevent exhibitors from returning home with unsold products.
She, however, expressed optimism that patronage would improve as the trade fair progressed.
A Chinese participant, Haoyu Mingze, also acknowledged the initial low turnout but said he remained hopeful that the situation would improve.
Mingze expressed confidence in Nigerian business networks and the ability of local traders to create opportunities for exhibitors at the fair.
The low turnout at the trade fair could be attributed to the high cost of living, reduced consumer purchasing power and rising transport costs.
The timing of the event may also have affected attendance, as many households are dealing with school expenses and other financial obligations.
Inadequate publicity, traffic and accessibility challenges as well as competition from online shopping, and the perception of the fair as mainly a business event may have further discouraged visitors.
Additionally, if exhibitors are not offering significantly cheaper or more attractive deals, consumers may see little incentive to attend.
The organisers had targeted about 100,000 visitors.
