Nigerians in London, United Kingdom, have
expressed frustration over the compulsory
payment of £30 (about N10, 000) for the
registration of the Bank Verification
Number, as directed by the Central Bank of
Nigeria.
Apparently sad over their plight, some of
them during the week stormed the Nigeria
High Commission in London to protest
against the directive of the apex bank.
Others took to the social media to vent their
anger.
The CBN had recently extended the
deadline for the BVN registration from June
30 to October 31, 2015 as disclosed in a
circular issued to all deposit money banks
operating in the country.
The Director, Banking and Payment Systems
Department of the CBN, Mr. Dipo Fatokun,
said the extension became imperative in
order to give bank customers more time to
participate in the enrolment exercise.
The circular had read in part, "It has come
to our notice that the BVN registration has
elicited tremendous interest from the
Nigerian banks' customers who crowded the
banking halls in order to beat the deadline.
"Furthermore, there is the need to give
Nigerian banks' customers in the Diaspora
ample time to enrol on the programme.
The
guideline for their enrolment is being
finalised and will be released soon."
Though the BVN registration in Nigeria is
free, Nigerians living in London have had to
part with N10, 000 to enrol on the exercise.
The directive was said to have been issued
by the apex bank, as confirmed by the UK
chapter of the All Progressives Congress and
Zenith Bank.
The APC, UK chapter, had asked the bank on
Twitter about the authenticity of the
directive and the bank replied, saying, "The
letter is genuine. The fee is as
communicated by CBN and the enrolment
company was contracted by the CBN.
We
trust this helps."
Meanwhile, a user of a popular blogging
platform, Nairaland, by the name klem93,
said he was shocked to have seen photos of
Nigerians thronging the Nigeria High
Commission in London in frustration.
He wrote, "I thought it is going to be
smooth sailing as I read that BVN for
Nigerians in London had begun.
I didn't
know it is going to be the same way as it
went in Nigeria. A reader of my blog who
lives in London wrote me an email:
'The
Nigeria High Commission in London needs
an urgent overhaul. This afternoon, we
Nigerians were treated like animals in Fleet
Street, London, all because we wanted to do
BVN for those of us who have accounts in
Nigeria.
"Things soon became chaotic and someone
called police on us. They allowed us to
converge on the street and then locked us
out.
We were also being forced to pay
£30.00 each, but none of the officials or the
website could explain what the money was
meant for. Is it not free in Nigeria?"
Eleojoe23, another user of the platform,
protested, "£30? What for? They truly
deserve an explanation. Maybe the high
commission thinks that since they live in
London, they should have enough money to
spare. Do they think people just go out and
pick money on the streets in London?"
Another user of the platform, Julioralph,
said, "30 pounds for what? Members of staff
at the high commission should be changed.
Even the CBN is at fault as well; they don't
have proper plans for those abroad
concerning this BVN stuff."
Attempts to get the comment of the
ministry's spokesperson, Ogbole Ahmedu-
Ode, were not successful as he could not be
reached on the phone. He also did not
respond to a text message that was sent to
him.
But investigations at the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs showed that the ministry was not
involved in the BVN registration held in the
UK.
A highly placed official in the ministry
explained that the Nigeria High Commission
in UK was not involved in the BVN
registration, stressing that it was handled by
a private firm which has no relationship
with the embassy.
The source said that the high commission
officials saw the posters advertising the BVN
registration in London like other members
of the public, noting that the "BVN
registration was the private affair of a
private company."
"Neither the Ministry of Foreign Affairs nor
the Nigeria High Commission in the UK was
involved in the BVN registration; the
programme was handled by a private
company which has no relationship with
the ministry or the high commission," the
official said on Friday.
Also, the Director, Corporate
Communications Department, CBN, Mr.
Mu'azu Ibrahim, could not be reached for
comments as repeated calls made to his
mobile phone did not connect.
--
By Santi Logan (KeyBoard-Monster)
