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Cashless Policy: CBN Promises To Tackle Electronic Fraud

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13 years ago

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The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assured Nigerians that it would tackle head-on the challenges of electronic fraud in its current cashless policy.
The CBN Deputy Governor in charge of Operations, Mr Tunde Lemo, gave the assurance when he led a team of the bank’s officials on a courtesy visit to Gov. Peter Obi in Awka.
Lemo, who explained that the exercise was part of the policies of the bank to stabilise the country’s GDP, said that the institution was aware of electronic fraud in the system.
According to him, there are various gains of the policy apart from checking corruption, the cashless policy is to meet the vision 2020:20, to modernise payment system, to also help improve the effectiveness of monetary policy.
He said that the policy would reduce robbery, kidnapping, election rigging and even leakage in government revenue “because nobody will be cheated by the electronic machine”.
“We are going to deal with fraud head-on. One of the fears of people is that this channel lends itself to fraud. We are quite aware of it and we have learnt the ropes in Lagos by ensuring that we deal with fraud.
“We had a committee of the bankers’ committee called Electronic Bankers Forum, they meet regularly to deal with fraud and issues around fraud are dealt with.
“Of course, with the anti-fraud system that the Central Bank is going to acquire, it will also help us to reign in fraud.
“We are also going to deal with consumer protection because there could be disputes when transactions are conducted. We have already arranged with banks that within two-three days, one week maximum, such disputes should be settled.’’
Lemo said that the apex bank had lisenced about 20,000 mobile operators and currently doing a monthly volume of about 1.4 million in transaction totaling close to N10 billion.
He said that the choice of Anambra in the second phase of the cash-less exercise was because of its commercial value represented by Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka.
“Anambra is included in the second phase because of its commercial value, particularly the Onitsha and Nnewi axis where a lot of commercial activities are taking place in addition to the capital, of course, which is the seat of government.
”We chose Ogun State because it is already part of the greater Lagos metropolis.
“After here, we are going to Abia because of Aba and then Port-Harcourt, given the importance of Port-Harcourt within the Niger Delta in the energy sector and finally Kano where we also see a cluster of commercial activities.
“We believe that with these six locations if we add to Lagos, we would have covered over 90 per cent of places where cash is located then the rest can key-in. ’’
Lemo said that under the cash-less policy, individuals would only be allowed to make a maximum daily cash withdrawal of N500,000 from their accounts, while corporate bodies would be entitled to make a daily maximum cash withdrawal of N3 million only.
He identified the challenges which the policy might face in Anambra to include resistance due to prevailing cash culture, lack of POS at priority locations, distrust in the banking system, techno-fobia and infrastructure lag, among others.
Responding, Gov. Obi thanked the CBN team for recognising the strategic role the state was playing in sustenance of Nigeria’s economy, adding that the policy would help stabilise the country’s growth.
The governor, who promised to lead the drive, pleaded with CBN to make out time to return and educate the traders in Onitsha, Nnewi and Awka.
Obi said he would need extra time to educate the people, adding that many Anambra businessmen had lost their money in failed banks, adding that 90 per cent of Onitsha traders still transact business in cash.
”I think we should embrace cashless policy but I still want to plead that we in Anambra should join in August instead of July 1, because the traders need more education and sensitisation.

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Boat Mishap Kills Pastor, Wife And Church Members  In Brass Water

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7 days ago

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May 18, 2026

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A boat accident in Bayelsa state has killed a serving Pastor, Wife and other church members along Brass waterways
The sad incident happened at Odioama in Brass local government area of Bayelsa State when the Pastor, wife and  members of his church were in a programme.
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?Tide confirmed that the lifeless body of the Pastor’s wife has been found and deposited in a mortuary while the remains of her husband ,the Pastor is yet  to be recovered
as search party are still ongoing.
Although the real cause of the boat Mishap is not yet known as at the time of this report,  our Correspondent gathered  that the identities of the Pastor, wife and church members were not disclosed to the public.
The mishap, Tide gathered occurred on Friday morning when the church members were on a boat transit
The Bayelsa State government and the state police command are yet to issue official statement’s  on the sad accident
By: CHINEDU WOSU
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Rivers Workers Seek Scrapping Of Contributory Pension Scheme

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7 days ago

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May 18, 2026

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The Rivers State Council of  Nigeria Civil Service Union has called on the State Government to urgently scrap the contributory pension scheme, describing it as unfavourable to long-serving civil servants in the state.
Chairman of the union, Chukwuka Osuma, said this in an interview with newsmen in Port Harcourt,  recently.
Osuma said the current pension structure has continued to worsen post-retirement hardship for workers.
He noted that  the contributory pension scheme had failed to provide adequate retirement security for workers who had spent many years in service, especially those approaching retirement age.
According to him, civil servants who had served for more than 20 years were among the worst affected under the scheme, insisting that many retirees could no longer cope with prevailing economic realities.
He also  informed that the Union has made moves to showcase their concerns, pleading with Governor Siminalayi Fubara to abolish the pension policy and introduce a more favourable arrangement for affected workers.
“The union was not opposed to pension reforms, the contributory scheme should only apply to newly employed workers or those with fewer years in service”, he said.
Osuma explained that workers who had already spent decades in the civil service ought to remain under a more secure pension structure capable of guaranteeing stability after retirement.
The labour leader further noted that inflation and the rising cost of living had continued to erode the value of retirement savings, thereby increasing the suffering of pensioners across the country.
He also appealed to the state government to consider extending the years of service in the civil service from 35 to 40 years and the retirement age from 60 to 65 years.
Osuma argued that such adjustment had become necessary in view of present-day economic realities and changing conditions in the workplace.
The unionist also reviewed that similar policies had already been adopted in some sectors and jurisdictions, expressing optimism that the State could also implement the reforms for the benefit of workers.
He however, commended Governor Fubara for approving an N85,000 minimum wage for workers in the state, noting that the amount was above the national benchmark of N70,000.
Osuma also acknowledged the government’s efforts in the area of workers’ promotions and bonuses, but insisted that pension reforms and extension of years of service remained critical to the long-term welfare and stability of civil servants in Rivers State.
By: King Onunwor
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FG Begins South-West Tour To Promote New Cooperative Bank

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2 weeks ago

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May 13, 2026

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The Federal Government has launched the South-West zonal engagement and ministerial advocacy tour on the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria share capital mobilisation, sensitisation and cooperative sector digitalisation.
 Reports say the initiative was launched through the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
According to reports, the advocacy tour, organised by the ministry’s Federal Department of Cooperatives, began on Monday in Lagos.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of State for Agriculture and Food Security and Supervising Minister of Cooperative Affairs, Dr Aliyu Abdullahi, said the initiative was part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Abdullahi described the exercise as a strategic effort to reposition the cooperative sector as a key driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity.
“Today represents a defining moment in our collective determination to reposition the cooperative sector as a major driver of inclusive economic growth, financial inclusion, enterprise development, food security and national prosperity,” he said.
The minister noted  the modern cooperative movement in Nigeria originated in the South-West following the 1934 Strickland Report, which led to the enactment of the Cooperative Societies Ordinance of 1935.
According to him, the decision to commence the sensitisation and share capital mobilisation tour in the region is symbolic, as it marks a return to the roots of cooperative development in the country.
Abdullahi said the advocacy tour was a direct outcome of resolutions reached at the 8th Regular Meeting of the National Council on Cooperative Affairs held in Abuja in March 2026.
He said the council approved the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme, a comprehensive framework designed to strengthen the cooperative sector and align it with the administration’s goal of building a one-trillion-dollar economy.
“The reform programme focuses on seven strategic pillars, including governance reforms, cooperative financing and the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria, digitalisation, capacity building, value chain development, inclusion of youths, women and persons with disabilities, and strategic partnerships,” he said.
He said the establishment of the Cooperative Bank of Nigeria and the digitalisation of the cooperative sector were the two major transformational initiatives under the programme.
“The Cooperative Bank of Nigeria is aimed at rebuilding a strong cooperative financial system capable of supporting cooperators, farmers, artisans, traders, SMEs, youths, women and persons with disabilities with accessible and affordable financial services,” he said.
Abdullahi emphasised that the proposed bank would be government-enabled but not government-funded.
“Government is not establishing the bank as an owner, nor will it rely on Treasury Single Account funds.
“The role of government through the FMAFS is to provide policy support, stakeholder coordination, regulatory facilitation and an enabling environment under the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme,” he said.
Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce, Cooperatives, Trade and Investment, Mrs Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, reaffirmed the state government’s commitment to cooperative sector transformation.
She described cooperatives as critical tools for promoting inclusive growth, grassroots productivity, food security, financial inclusion and community wealth creation.
Ambrose-Medebem said Lagos State would continue to support reforms and collaborate with stakeholders to ensure the successful implementation of the Renewed Hope Cooperative Reform and Revamp Programme (2025–2030).
“Together, let us build a cooperative ecosystem that is modern, transparent, digitally enabled, financially inclusive and globally competitive.
“Let us build cooperatives that not only mobilise savings, but also mobilise prosperity,” she said.
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