The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, on Thursday said it has so far not only recovered over N60 billion from erring banks as excessive charges imposed on customers, but has also returned same amount to the affected customers.
The apex bank also disclosed that it has begun the process of creation of 10 million jobs in the next five years through investment support in agriculture, using 10 commodity models.
This much was disclosed by the CBN’s Director of Corporate Communications, Mr Isaac Okoroafor, while speaking at a two-day customers sensitisation forum in Owerri, the Imo State capital.
Okoroafor said that the recovery of the excess bank charges was made possible through the bank’s Consumer Protection Department, adding that the amount was recovered following complaints by 13,000 customers over excess and illegal charges on their accounts by banks.
Disclosing that the erring banks were meted with various penalties by the CBN, the apex bank’s spokesperson added that the CBN was determined to ensure that no bank customer was cheated with excessive charges by their banks.
While using the opportunity to advise bank customers to report all cases of suspected or illegal excessive charges they feel their banks might have imposed on them, Okoroafor added that the CBN adopted intermediation strategy to monitor the banks and ensure they did not misuse customers deposits.
On the apex bank’s development function, Okoroafor said, “We want to stop inflation in the economy by ensuring that prices of food items don’t keep rising at every turn. That’s why we made loans available with single digits interest rate.”
Following from this, the CBN spokesman disclosed that more than 10 million jobs would be created in Nigeria in the next five years through the apex bank’s activities.
He said that the jobs would be created through 10 commodity models such as cotton, cassava, palm oil, cocoa, maize, tomatoes, poultry, fishery, cattle and dairy, adding, “We will also provide high yielding seedlings as well as extension services to the farmers.
“We’ll equally provide them with the processors or off takers who will buy off their farm products immediately after harvest. This will create the best value chain for everyone.
“If we face cassava for instance in the South East alone, we will create at least one million jobs here.
“Our intention is to bring back farm settlements across the country as it used to be in the past. That’s the easiest way of building our economy.”
