Senate resolves to:
1. Direct the Committees on Banking Insurance & other Financial Institutions and Finance to conduct an investigation into the propriety of ATM card maintenance charges in comparison with international best practices and report back to the Senate;
2. Mandate the Committees on Banking, Insurance & other Financial Institutions and Finance to invite the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria to appear before the Committee in order to explain why the official charges as approved by the CBN are skewed in favour of the banking institutions as against the ordinary customers of the banks;
3. Urge the Central Bank of Nigeria to suspend the ATM card maintenance charges being deducted from customers account as well as instructing the commercial banks to configure their machines to extend to N40,000 per withdrawal pending the outcome of the investigation by the committees and;
4. Urge the Consumer Protection Council to be up and doing in taking up the plight of ordinary Nigerians by looking into the various complaints of excess and unnecessary charges by Nigerian Banks.
SenatePlenary- Wednesday 17th Oct 2018
Illicit and excessive charges by Nigerian banks in customers accounts with particular focus on Automated Teller Machine (ATM) maintenance and withdrawal charges by Senator @SenGbengaAshafa.
“It won’t be out of place to Institute a committee that will call on the CBN to tell us what these charges are about. The Senate by fiat should abolish charges if they can’t be verified.”- Senator Bala Na’allah.
“The monetary policy guidelines are not being adhered to and as such, the Committee on Banking and Finance should take charge of that.”-Senator Philip Gyunka.
“These banks should stop ripping Nigerians off their hard earned money.”-Senator Adeola Solomon.
“The common man is also a victim. Banks declare profit and you wonder where it is coming from; it’s from the sweat of the common man. I want to add that we come up with a law that puts banks on their toes.”- Senator Emmanuel Bwacha.
