MOTION BY RT. HON SERGIUS OGUN* today 23rd March, 2023 at the Green Chambers of the National Assembly.
CALL ON THE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA (CBN) TO DIRECT ALL COMMERCIAL BANKS TO OVERHAUL THEIR ONLINE BANKING SERVICE PLATFORMS FOR EFFICIENCY AND EASE OF CONDUCTING ELECTRONIC BANKING OPERATIONS BY CUSTOMERS
The House:
Notes that section 88 (1) and (2) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (As Amended) empowers the National Assembly to conduct investigations into the activities of any authority executing or administering laws made by the National Assembly (like the Central Bank of Nigeria);
Aware that the Central Bank of Nigeria is established under section 1 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, Cap. C4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004, with the objective of issuing legal tender currencies in Nigeria;
Also aware that section two of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, Cap. C4, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN), 2004, saddles the Central Bank of Nigeria with the duty of promoting a sound financial system in Nigeria;
Acknowledges that in the wake of the recent naira redesign and cash withdrawal limit policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, there has been an increase in the use of online and electronic banking services to carry out monetary transactions across country;
Further acknowledges that the use of online or internet banking services by Nigerians in the past three months (or thereabout) has been characterized with varying degrees of hitches ranging from unsuccessful electronic bank transfers, point of sale (POS) service failure and a host of others;
Disturbed that the ineffectiveness (and/or difficulty in using) internet banking services across the online banking platforms of most commercial banks in Nigeria has brought untold hardship, suffering and difficulties upon Nigerians in the past three months (or more);
Worried that if nothing is done by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Commercial Banks to address these difficulties or ineffectiveness, Nigerians will continue to suffer untold hardships and lose their monies to unsuccessful electronic bank transactions;
Resolves to:
1. Call on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to direct all Commercial Banks in the country to immediately overhaul their existing online/electronic banking platforms for efficiency and ease of conducting electronic banking operations;
2. Mandate the House Committee on Banking and Currency to ensure compliance with this resolution and report back to the House in four weeks for further legislative action.
