Aggrieved Depositors Petition Banks Over N546bn Wrong Charges

No fewer than 2,256 depositors have lodged complaints on transactions totalling N368.9bn and $428.7m (N177.05bn) on their accounts against their banks with the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

The institute, through its ethic and governance directorate, however, said it had been able to resolve 2,206 of the reported cases. It also said that total amount awarded on the cases were N30.65bn and $19.48m since the inception of the tribunal.

The institute disclosed this in its 2021 annual report which was released on Saturday after its annual general meeting in Lagos. The President, CIBN, Dr. Bayo Olugbemi, chaired the meeting with a huge physical and virtual attendance by members of the institute across the globe.

In 2021, the CIBN said it received 35 petitions with claims amounting to N4.3bn while 17 cases were fully resolved. During the meeting, Dr. Kenneth Opara was elected as the 22nd president/chairman of council of the institute. He would succeed Dr. Bayo Olugbemi whose two-year tenure would end on May 21, 2022.

The institute also elected other new officers and reviewed the 2021 financial and operational reports. Some other elected officers are Prof. Pius Olanrewaju as the first vice president; Mr Oladele Alabi as the second vice president; and Mrs Mojisola Bakare-Asieru as the national treasurer. Other elected officers in the governing council are Dr. Victor Aguwah; Mr Olayinka Odutola; Ms Mary Aina; and Mr Segun Oshadare to serve the tenure from 2022 to 2024.

Speaking on the 2021 operations of the CIBN, Olugbemi said the institute was committed to promoting banking education and professionalism in Nigeria and world at large. He said the number of individual members of the institute grew from 144,922 as of April 30, 2021, to 149,967 as of March 24, 2022, representing an increase of 3.5 per cent over the previous year.

In the area of implementation of the competency framework, he said the institute received a boost as it was appointed as the secretariat for the Bankers Committee, Sub-Committee on Competency and Industry Standards.