The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) on Tuesday lauded the efforts of the Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria (CAFON) in sensitising Nigerians on the numerous charges by commercial banks.The Director-General of LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, gave the commendation in an interview in Lagos. He said that the “No Banking Day’’ boycott was a reflection of the awakening of banks’ customers to their rights. Yusuf told NAN that the protest would put the banking institutions on their toes. According to him, let them (banks) know that they cannot be taking customers for granted. CAFON is a non-profit group dedicated to advocacy for consumer rights and protection.
The group led a nationwide boycott of “No Banking Day” on March 1. The protest is aimed at boycotting bank transactions nationwide in order to protest excessive charges by commercial banks. Yusuf said, “The impact might not be significant in terms of compliance but the important thing is that the message from the customers to the bank has been passed.’’ The LCCI chief said that the prevailing situation demanded that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should strengthen its oversight functions on the activities of commercial banks to their customers.
According to him, banks that are found culpable should be sanctioned and publicised to serve as a deterrent to others. He urged the apex bank to sensitise the public about the existence of the Department of Consumer Protection in the bank. “The department should be in all the states of the federation and not limited to the CBN’s Headquarters in Abuja, so that anyone with complain can easily access the office,’’ Yusuf said.
He urged commercial banks to shun arbitrary deductions from customers’ accounts, adding that transparency and fairness should be their guiding principles. When NAN visited some banks in Lagos, transactions were on as usual. Some of the banks’ customers told NAN that they were not aware of the “No Banking Day” boycott called by CAFON. They said that the boycott was commendable but the compliance was low due to poor publicity.
