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.”
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.
-Punch