By David Agba and Amaka Ifeakandu, Ilorin
The Editor, Southern operation of Blueprint newspapers, Mr. Jerry Uwah has said that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has had difficulty controlling liquidity in circulation because most of it is in outside the banking system.
Mr Uwah, who was speaking at the 2015 NDIC workshop for Business Editors and Finance Correspondents on Tuesday in Ilorin, Kwara state.
According to him, “80 percent of monies in circulation is under peoples’ pillow.”
The media executive said that in order to rectify the anomaly, there is need for the Apex Bank to aggressively ensure its e-banking policy is vigorously pursued as it would bring more people into the banking system.
“E-banking has decongested the nation’s repulsive banking hall,” this is as he added that people no longer have to carry large volume of cash.
While applauding the revolution e-banking has brought to the payment system, Mr. Uwah blasted GSM service providers and the banks for the faulty transaction that bank customers experience regularly.
“The traders I Ariaria market
in Aba, Abia State, Onitsha market in Anambra state, Alabama International, Balogun market in Lagos and Sabo Gari market in Kano all love the POS machine because it reduces the risk of an encounter with armed robbers. But most of them are not suing them because of the alarming high rate of failure.
“If nothing is done to compel banks and GSM service providers to realize the danger of allowing weak infrastructure to ruin e-banking,” insisting that the GSM service providers which form the backbone of e-banking cannot be allowed to continue business as usual saying their poor service is responsible for the backwardness of e-banking in Nigeria.
He, therefore, urged the media to assume its role of advocacy for consumers of banking services in the country.
“The role of the media today is to put on its toga of consumer protection and compel the operators of the financial system and the telecoms community to sit up. They can do better is they are challenged,” he insisted.
