A cross section of residents of Umuahia have expressed mixed feelings over Tuesday’s report of a one-month suspension of payment by Mavrodi Mundial Moneybox (MMM) to Nigerian subscribers.

Just as some subscribers expressed the fear that the money-spinning scheme had crashed, others believed the statement posted online by the organisation that payment would resume in January.

A trader, Mr Kingsley Igwe, who is a subscriber, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that he was “jolted by the news.”

“When I heard the news, I was jolted but after sometime I picked courage but I will be pleasantly surprised if the scheme resumes in January as they promised in their site.”

Igwe, who said that he joined the scheme in October, said that the scheme had provided succour to him.

“I started with N50,000 and my investment had grown to more than N200,000 while I had enjoyed more than N280,000 as bonus,” he said.

A civil servant, who identified himself simply as Ndubuisi, said that he was confident the scheme would resume as promised.

“But I get worried when some people say that this was the same way the scheme crashed in other countries, including South Africa, where it operated,’’ he said.

A medical practitioner, Dr Austin Ikoro, who said that he joined MMM about five months ago, said “there is no qualms,” adding emphatically that “the scheme has not crashed”.

Ikoro, who said that he was paid on Tuesday morning shortly before the statement was posted online, said he had no reason to doubt the promise that payment would resume in January.

“I want to encourage my fellow subscribers not to panic. There is no cause for alarm,” he said.

According to him, commercial banks also adopt similar measures toward the end of the year to decongest the system.

The Chairman of the Abia council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Mr John Emejor, said that he had no sympathy for those who might have become victims of the scheme.

“This is one ponzi that I have refused to associate myself with. Money does not grow on trees, so I certainly do not have sympathy for the victims,” Emejor said.

Meanwhile, a NAN investigation in the banks in the city showed that the development had not caused any significant drop in human traffic.

“Human traffic in my bank is still high. We have not experienced any decrease in the number of customers’ transactions,” a management staffer of a new generation bank said on the condition of anonymity. (NAN)
USO/AAB/MVO
(Edited By Adeboye Ajayi/Mbadiwe Okwor)