The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has announced that it has so far recovered N89.2 billion excess and illegal charges slammed on customers by banks in Nigeria.
The CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, made this known while speaking in Calabar at a 2- day public enlightenment fair.
Represented by the Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, Emefiele said the amount which was as at June 2021 was based on 23,526 complaints they received from customer bordering on charges and other related matters.
The CBN governor, however, noted that Nigeria’s financial system is sound, resilient and stable contrary to rumors in unnamed quarters.
According to him, “We want Nigerians to know that we carry out “banking examinations” and the results show that our banks are in very good condition and our financial system is stable, resilient, safe and sound”.
“This sensitisation is part of ways to engage the people to understand how our polices, programmes and interventions are affecting them and as well as create a veritable platform to discuss and understand their challenges through their responses and feedbacks.”
Speaking on the customer complaints, he said: “What we do is that whenever we get these complaints, they are thoroughly investigated, if they are found to be true, the CBN makes sure that these customers are properly refunded and we have so far recovered N89 billion.”
Recall that the CBN had dismissed insinuations in some quarters that it had planned to convert the foreign exchange in the domiciliary accounts of customers into Naira in order to check shortage of dollars.
The apex bank’s acting Director in charge of Corporate Communications, Osita Nwanisobi, who condemned the rumours on Monday, August 2, in Abuja said the CBN never planned to tamper with the foreign exchange deposits in the customers’ accounts.
Nwanisobi described those making such allegations as criminal speculators whose intention was to create panic in the foreign exchange market.
