The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has so far recovered over N60 billion from erring banks as excessive charges imposed on customers.
The CBN Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okoroafor who disclosed this on Thursday, said the money has been returned to the affected customers.
According to him, the amount was recovered following complaints by 13,000 customers over excess and illegal charges on their accounts by banks.
He noted that the recovery of the excess bank charges was made possible through the bank’s Consumer Protection Department.
Speaking during a two-day customers sensitisation forum in Owerri, the Imo State capital, he disclosed that the erring banks were meted with various penalties by the CBN, stressing that the apex bank was determined to ensure that no bank customer was cheated with excessive charges from their banks.
He added that the CBN adopted intermediation strategy to monitor the banks and ensure they did not misuse customers deposits.
Speaking further, he 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”.
He announced that the bank has commenced the processes for the creation of 10 million jobs in the next five years through investment support in agriculture, using 10 commodity models.
According to him, the jobs would be created through 10 commodity models such as cotton, cassava, palm oil, cocoa, maize, tomatoes poultry, fishery, cattle and dairy.
“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”,
(C) Control TV 2020.
