By Nse Anthony-Uko
ABUJA (Sundiata Finance) – The Central Bank of Nigeria has urged bank customers to write to its customer protection department if any bank does not resolve or reverse any arbitrary bank charge within two weeks of complaints.
Speaking at a sensitization programme last week, CBN’s Deputy Director, Trade and Exchange department, Mr Olu Vincent, said the customer protection department (CPD) had been established principally to address challenges between customers and their bankers.
“For any problem you have with any commercial bank, customers are free to escalate their protest to Consumer Protection Department of CBN. If you write a protest letter to your bank, after two weeks, you can escalate it to CBN and the central bank can assure you that within one or two weeks we will investigate and get back and resolve the matter.”
He stated the resolve of the apex bank to sensitize the general public about their rights and privileges in their customer relationship with their various banks. Also, on the intervention programmes of the apex bank, he charged Nigerians to utilise the several intervention funds of the CBN targeted at boosting economic activities in the country.
“We want to let the public be aware there are some policies that are in place which they can leverage on for economic growth. There are interventions for real sector, power sector, aviation sector, we’ve had for the agriculture sector. There have been various interventions for some years now that the CBN has put in place just to stimulate the economy.
“We are moving from oil to non-oil and the strength of the economy for non-oil is actually in the agriculture sector. And government has spent a lot in the agriculture sector, that’s why you have a lot of farmers here in this particular fair. There are other medium and small scale enterprises that are around again for this particular fair, not just farmers alone” he said.
On his part, assistant director, currency operation department of the apex bank, Benedict Maduagwu, said there are many interventions of the CBN that are aimed at promoting the well-being and also diversifying the economy like the Anchor Borrowers Scheme. That initiative is wonderful.
“We have the MSME intervention scheme N220 billion and in that earmarked amount, about 60 is reserved for women. We also have the youth empowerment development programme. That one has to do with corpses that have served. They can assess it and they have N3 million. We have unemployment all over.
Apart from that, you cannot do any business in Nigeria without money and that is why we are promoting the cashless policy. The way the currency is being handle is being abused, there is huge cost of currency management.
“Between 2005 and 2010, over N192 was spent on currency management and it has grown more than that. So, the effort in the cashless policy and also the public sensitisation to top how to handle and carry clean naira, they are all aimed at reduction of the huge cost currency management” he stated.