*Nigerians too passive to participate—BANKER

By Emeka Anaeto, Babajide Komolafe, Grace Udofia & Vivian Yiye

The call by Consumer Advocacy Foundation of Nigeria, CAFON, and Coalition of Nigerian Consumer Protection Associations, CNCPA, for boycott of banks across the country over excess charges failed to live up to its promise yesterday.

File: Banking hall

Many bank branches visited by Vanguard did not record any significant change in customer traffic, especially in the morning hours.

A staff of Diamond Bank on Ajose Adeogun Street, Victoria Island, Lagos, told Vanguard that although they were aware of the boycott threat, the branch did not record any shift from regular customer flow.

A similar report was received from bank staff at Guaranty Trust Bank, First Bank, Access Bank, United Bank for Africa and First City Monument Bank in Victoria Island, Lagos Island, Surulere and Apapa areas of Lagos visited by Vanguard yesterday.

In one of the bank branches, a customer told Vanguard that he was aware of the boycott call, but could not stop his business because of that.

He also said he was in support of any action that would make the banks reverse or at least stop all the charges they had been collecting from his account.

At bank branches on Oba Akra Avenue, Ikeja, customers were seen conducting normal banking transactions.

This was also the same for banks on Allen Avenue, also in Ikeja area and the Akonwonjo Road, in Alimosho Local Government Area in Lagos State.

A female bank staff of  First Bank, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told Vanguard that there was no indication that most customers were even aware of the proposed campaign because customers that came to her branch carried out normal transaction without questions or complaints.

Commenting on the apathy of customers to the protest, a Zenith Bank staff told Vanguard: “Nigerians are too passive to participate in such protest; customers came as usual and conducted normal banking activities.”

A similar experience was recorded in Abuja as some of the bank branches visited by Vanguard yesterday afternoon, had the usual queues inside the banking halls of UBA, Zenith, Ecobank, FCMB, Diamond Bank and Union Bank with normal banking activities.

An official of one of the banks in Abuja told Vanguard that customers had been trooping into the bank since they opened for business at around 8a.m. up till when the banks closed.

Though Abuja residents did not obey the boycott, those that spoke to Vanguard expressed anger over the bank charges.

They argued that they had endured excessive charges, illegal fees and unfair contracts that only protect the banks but do not protect the consumers.

One of the customers said: “Banks debit our accounts at will for charges we never agreed to or were not aware of; they charge us for every little service and we pay for getting our statements, introduction letters and now, some banks are charging N200 for the use of deposit and transfer forms.”